Family and Youth Initiatives “By partnering with Fulton County Juvenile Court, the faith community and the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), the Juvenile Justice Fund has created eight model Family Visitation Centers throughout our Fulton County community. They are a viable and necessary component in the Court's efforts to reunite families as quickly and safely as possible.” Judge Belinda Edwards Presiding Judge, Fulton County Juvenile Court

Through our Family and Youth Initiatives, JJF works to increase safety and permanency for children by strengthening families, training child protection workers, and providing education and information about the juvenile justice system.

Family and Youth Initiatives Projects include:

Family Visitation Centers
To assist and support families seeking to regain physical custody of their children placed in foster care, the Juvenile Justice Fund (JJF) partners with faith-based organizations strategically located throughout Atlanta and Fulton County to provide family visitation in safe, secure and neutral environments -a key step to reuniting as a healthier, stronger family unit. Through Family Visitation, trained, volunteer congregation members from community churches supervise weekly visits between children in foster care and their non-custodial parents. Family Visitation Centers are friendly and provide safe, comfortable, neutral and accessible locations for frequent visitations to take place. The program has enabled JJF to successfully develop important relationships within the faith-based community, resulting in critical services being made available to children and families in need.

Our faith partners include:

• Art Center Visitation Center at First Presbyterian Church
• College Park Visitation Center at St. John’s Episcopal Church
• Downtown Visitation Center at Big Bethel AME Church
• Inman Park Visitation Center at Inman Park United Methodist Church
• Mechanicsville Visitation Center at New Hope Baptist Church
• College Park Visitation Center at St. John’s Episcopal Church
• Roswell/Alpharetta Visitation Center at Northminster Presbyterian Church
• South Fulton Visitation Center at Kingdom of God Evangelistic Outreach Ministry
• Vine City Visitation Center at Central United Methodist Church

Family Visitation was featured on WSB-TV as part of its initiative on Georgia’s Forgotten Children, a year-long effort to raise awareness about Georgia’s foster care program. It has also been recognized as a model program within the state and nationwide.