Knox County Family & Children First Council
The mission of the Knox County Family and Children First Council is to promote and facilitate collaboration among community agencies serving children and their families.
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Knox FCFC was established in Knox County in February 1995 in response to State legislation mandating that all 88 Ohio counties organize local Councils. The authority and responsibility of local Councils is defined in Section 121.37 of the Ohio Revised Code.
At the State and local level, Councils are designed to:
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Build community capacity to collaboratively serve families and children across all systems
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Reduce duplication of services and use public funds wisely
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Eliminate gaps in services
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Provide families a voice in efforts to receive and streamline needed services
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Identify specific and emerging needs within each county​
Purpose
The purpose of the Knox County Family and Children First Council (FCFC) is to streamline and coordinate existing publicly funded services to help families seeking assistance for their children. This initiative is a partnership of government agencies and community organizations committed to improving the well-being of children and families. The focus is on the shared commitments to child well-being—beginning with expectant parents and newborns through the transition of youth to adulthood. The major source of funding for the Knox County FCFC is through state and federal grants available to develop and administer specific programs. In addition, several FCFC agencies contribute local dollars to purchase services for multi-need children.
Effectiveness
Through collaborative efforts of the Knox County FCFC, approximately two million dollars in family and children services have been leveraged over the last 5 years to meet common goals for the community.
Ways in which Knox County FCFC strengthens the community include:
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FCFC coordinates services to support youth and families in need.
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FCFC plays a role in providing a supportive community to aid our abused and neglected youth.
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FCFC supports parent and youth education and support programs.
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FCFC provides the vessel for joint partnerships.
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FCFC plays a needed role in economic development.
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FCFC coordinates Child Abuse and Neglect prevention efforts in partnership with the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund.
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FCFC supports and promotes the Knox County Fatherhood Initiative.
Our System of Care
Ohio has a long history of coordinating services and systems to address the needs of children and families. In the mid-eighties under the direction of Governor Celeste, state child serving agencies formed the Interdepartmental Cluster Services For Youth (ICSFY) to address the needs of children with severe and multiple problems (micro-systems of service). Counties were then mandated to form ICSFYs. Much of the focus was on children with very intense needs requiring out-of-home placements. Funding was provided at the state level to assist with specific needs.
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In the early nineties, Governor Voinovich envisioned the Family and Children First Councils to expand the work of cluster and become the catalyst for bringing communities together to coordinate and streamline services for families and children needing or seeking governmental assistance (adding a macro level of service). FCFCs were established in statute along with the blueprint of how the coordination of services and systems should operate at the state and local level (both at the macro and micro levels). As such, the result of that work positioned FCFCs as Ohio’s statutorily designed Systems of Care body. (OFCF/DCY)
