Every county in Ohio has a Family and Children First Council. Each council includes public and private agencies, as well as parents.  Council members work collaboratively to enhance the well-being of their county’s children and families by building community capacity, coordinating systems and services, and engaging families.

Building Community Capacity

Local Family and Children First Councils identify and address the ongoing needs of children and families through planning, implementing effective strategies, monitoring and reporting, and evaluating progress toward achieving desired outcomes.

Coordinating Systems and Services

Local Family and Children First Councils streamline and coordinate existing government services for families seeking services for their children (micro). FCFCs also annually evaluate and prioritize services, fill service gaps where possible, and invent new approaches to achieve better results for families and children (macro). Service Coordination is not affiliated with any single system, but the results of service coordination impact family and community outcomes across all systems through a collaborative, coordinated, cross-system approach

Engaging and Empowering Families

Local Family and Children First Councils recruit and support parents encouraging them to be active contributing members of the council, to be involved in key decision-making efforts, and to serve as an advocate for children, families and communities.

Shared Accountability

Local Family and Children First Councils provide a collaborative infrastructure that allows for creative and innovative solutions that will streamline and strengthen the local service delivery system for children and families. Shared Accountability can only be achieved if the other three core functions are operational: engaging and empowering families, building community capacity, and coordinating systems and services.