Children 1st is the single point of entry to a statewide collaborative system of Public Health and other prevention based programs and services. This system helps parents provide their young children with a healthy start in life. It allows at-risk children to be identified early and gives them a chance to grow-up healthy and ready for school. Participation is voluntary; there are no financial requirements for enrollment into the system. Children 1st is Georgia's welcome for every child.
Children 1st operates through five core functions: identification, screening, assessment, linkage/referral and monitoring. All births in Georgia are a part of the Children 1st birth review or identification process. The Electronic Birth Certificate assists Children 1st in identifying newborns who have or are at risk for poor health and development. In addition to this system, many health and community providers refer families to Children 1st by submitting a Children 1st Screening and Referral Form to the local Children 1st District Coordinator.
All births and referrals undergo a screening, those found to be at risk for poor health or development are offered an in-home family assessment. This assists in identifying family strengths and needs to help with the child's health and development.
If needs are identified, Children 1st assists the family in linkage/referral to local medical and/or prevention based programs and services available to meet those needs. Children are linked with providers in the private sector to the greatest extent possible to encourage public/private partnerships. If local services are not available, families unmet needs are documented so that an inventory of needs can be developed. Monitoring allows Children 1st to assess the child's health needs at various intervals and assure continuity of health services up to the child's fifth birthday.
For more information about Children 1st , please call (678) 610-7365.