Community Collaborative Workshop September 5, 2013

Pickens County Agencies Coming Together to Discuss Community Concerns and Resources

20 areas of Community Concern 1.Parenting Skills 2.Dysfunctional Families 3.Child abuse and Neglect 4.Poverty 5.Transportation 6.Substance Abuse

20 areas of Community Concern 7. Employment Resources 8. Parent Education 9. Mental Health 10. Single Parents 11. Teen Pregnancy 12. Family Economic Survival

20 areas of Community Concern 13. Domestic Violence 14. Health Needs 15. Homeless Families 16. Housing 17. Teen Center 18. Prisoner Support 19. Food Nutrition Needs 20. Elderly Needs

Parent Support and Resources Prevent Child Abuse (new moms) Department of Family and Children Services Parent to Parent helps Parents with Special Needs Children Pregnancy Center

Dysfunctional Families North Georgia Mountain & Cherokee Crisis Center January 2012 to October 2013 Bed Nights in Shelter 760 Women/Children in Shelters 22 Legal/Persons Requesting TPO 46 Sexual Assault Victims 7 Outreach Clients Not Requiring Shelter 49 Hotline Crisis Calls 375 Total Services Provided to Victims from Pickens County = 1,977

Child Abuse and Neglect % = 66 cases % = 112 cases % = 88 cases % = 82 cases 2013 TBD State Average = 5 % for 2012

Children Living In Poverty % % % % % % = 1, TBD State Average = 26.6%

Good News Graduation rate 90.50% (52% in 2002) 4.1% Students with >15 absences (a decrease from 6.7% in previous years)

Mountain Education Charter High School All students who attend the MECHS start high school somewhere else. Approximately 67% of the students who enroll in the MECHS come to us at least one year or more behind. The Cohort formula used to determine graduation rates measures the percentage of students who graduate “on time” within a 4 year or 5 year window. As you know, a majority of our students graduate late.

The day school measurement of graduation success was not appropriate for the MECHS setting. This led to a Snapshot method that MECHS now uses to assess graduation results. The approach looks at the seniors enrolled in the MECHS at the beginning of the school year and measures the number of those students who graduate by the end that year. Not only did more students graduate, but the senior drop-out rate as measured in the Snapshot was cut by over 50 % in one year = = 52

GED Graduates For Pickens County, 137 students have been served this year. 42 have passed the GED test, and another 10 are scheduled to test in the next few weeks. Over 50% of the students that come to take classes complete one educational level. An educational level is moving from 4th grade to 6th grade or from 2nd grade to 4th grade. It is hard to do.