Fairfield County Family and Children First Council mission
The Council creates and facilitates a coordinated system of services that responds to the strengths and needs of our community. It is a partnership of public and private non-profit child- and family-serving agencies and organizations committed to improving the well-being of children and families. The Council strives to:
- Streamline and coordinate government services for families seeking help for their children;
- Develop and implement a service coordination mechanism to prioritize services and fill gaps where possible;
- Participate in a comprehensive and coordinated interagency system for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities or delays;
- Monitor progress toward achieving results;
- Ensure input from families and from a broad spectrum of the community;
- Build community capacity.
The Council is steered by its Executive Committee, which includes representation from: parents, the Board of County Commissioners, the Mayor of the City of Lancaster, Educational Service Center (ESC), Pickerington Schools, Lancaster City Schools, Ohio Guidestone Mental Health, Fairfield County Board of DD, Job and Family Services, Fairfield Community Health Center, Early Childhood Programs of Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Agency, United Way, Fairfield County 2-1-1, Fairfield County Health Department, ADAMH Board and Juvenile Court. The Fairfield County Board of Commissioners is the FCFC's administrative agent and Fiscal Agent.
Accountability
Annual Reports
Each report opens in a viewer where you can read it or open it in a new tab. Our current priorities are set out in the Shared Plan.
Select a year to open the document viewer. Each report is available as an accessible text version (read aloud by screen readers) and as the original signed PDF.
“Connecting the pieces” — coordinating systems and services so children thrive.
“None of us is as smart as all of us” — collaboration and new programs.
Help Me Grow Early Intervention data and a focus on helping others.
Parent Education Cooperative curricula and a coordinated system of services.
Continued coordinated service delivery for children and families.
A virtual meeting during the pandemic — “Serve, Connect, and Protect.”
“Giving thanks for our caring community” — look for the helpers.
“Creating community partnerships” and the FY17–19 Shared Plan.
The Council's mission and its four core coordinated programs.
Overview
The 2025 report, themed “Connecting the pieces,” describes how the Fairfield County Family & Children First Council (FCFC) ensures children have what they need to thrive by building community capacity, engaging and empowering families, and coordinating systems and services.
What the Council does
FCFC brings together schools, health and behavioral-health providers, courts, child welfare, developmental disabilities, and community organizations. It coordinates services so families with complex needs get support without duplication, facilitates collaboration among agencies, works to prevent out-of-home placements (and coordinates and helps fund residential care when it is necessary), and supports schools by addressing non-academic barriers such as housing instability, mental health, and transportation.
Programs highlighted
- Multi-System Youth — service coordination, social/recreational support, home-based therapy, and wraparound services; the report charts youth served by age group. Presented by Dennis Surbaugh and Audra Wolf.
- Help Me Grow Early Intervention (SFY25) — services for children under age three, managed by Laurie Clark.
- Parent Education — presented by Stephanie Loudon.
- Perinatal Cluster — presented by Cassandra Bridgeman.
Annual meeting
Held November 20, 2025, with the Mary Good Award, Firefly Award presentations, and a keynote by Dave Henwood, Protective Services Permanency Manager. Manager: Tiffany Wilson.
Overview
The 2024 report opens with the theme “None of us is as smart as all of us” (Ken Blanchard) and highlights the Council's growing slate of coordinated programs.
Programs highlighted
- Help Me Grow Early Intervention — essential services for infants and toddlers from birth to age three, emphasizing family involvement and school readiness (Tiffany Wilson).
- Multi-System Youth and the TREK Program — presented by Dennis Surbaugh and Audra Wolf.
- Parent Education and Safe Communities — Tiffany Wilson.
- Perinatal Cluster — Laurie Clark.
Annual meeting
Held November 21, 2024. Council President Jeannette Curtis (Executive Director, Fairfield County 211). The Mary Good Award recognized 2023 honoree Sherry Kilbarger, and a state FCFC update was presented by Elisha Cangelosi and Colleen Tucker.
Overview
The 2023 report reflects on strength through “helping others” (Fred Rogers) and provides detailed early-intervention outcomes.
Help Me Grow Early Intervention (SFY 2023)
The program provides coordinated services to families of eligible children under age three with developmental delays or disabilities, based on the principle that young children learn best from familiar people in familiar settings.
- 525 children and their families were referred; 495 children were eligible; and 248 children served exited the program during the year.
- Referral sources included physicians (about 29%), families/caregivers (about 22%), and hospitals (about 22%).
- The leading eligibility reason was one or more substantial developmental delays.
Recognition
Firefly Awards were presented for Help Me Grow Early Intervention (Tiffany Wilson) and Multi-System Youth (Shannon Eads and Madison Niemann). Office: 831 College Avenue, Suite C, Lancaster, Ohio.
Overview
The 2022 report restates the Council's mission to create and facilitate a coordinated system of services that responds to the strengths and needs of the community.
Parent Education Cooperative
Coordinated by Brandy Heeter, the cooperative offered a full range of evidence-based curricula: The First Five Years, Active Parenting, Active Parenting for Stepfamilies, Loving Solutions, Parent Project, Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) Levels 3 and 4, and Triple P Primary Care. During FY 2022, 103 parents completed one of the offered curriculums — most requiring a commitment to multiple sessions.
Annual meeting
Officers elected included Carrie Woody (CEO, United Way) as President and Jeanette Curtis (Executive Director, Fairfield County 211) as Vice President, with a presentation by Judge Terre Vandervoort and Firefly Award recognitions.
Overview
The 2021 report continues the Council's work as a partnership of public and private, non-profit child- and family-serving agencies committed to improving the well-being of Fairfield County children and families.
What the Council does
FCFC streamlines and coordinates government services for families seeking help for their children, ensures input from families and a broad spectrum of the community, and aligns partners around shared outcomes across its Multi-System Youth, Help Me Grow Early Intervention, Parent Education, and injury-prevention/Safe Communities work.
Recognition
The annual meeting included the Council's annual report, Firefly Award presentations, and Mary Good Humanitarian Service Award recognitions.
Note: this year's report is an image-based document; the summary above reflects its readable content. Please open the original signed PDF for full details.
Overview
The 2020 report, “Celebrating Our Caring Community — Determined to Serve, Connect, and Protect,” was presented at a virtual annual meeting on November 19, 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Programs highlighted
The Multi-System Youth (MSY) program provides the service-coordination system that organizes agencies, people, and services around the individual needs of multi-need youth and their families. During FY 2020, 157 youth were served. Coordinated by Cindi West with program assistant Courtney Carlo.
Meeting & recognition
Council President Aundrea Cordle (Director, Job and Family Services). A pandemic-response presentation, “Living the Pandemic,” was given by John Pekar (Superintendent, Board of Developmental Disabilities). Firefly honorees included Chris Varnell, Kim Devitt, Sgt. Forrest Cassel, and Minuteman Press.
Overview
The 2019 report, “Giving Thanks for Our Caring Community,” opens with Fred Rogers's well-known reminder to “look for the helpers,” celebrating the many partners who help Fairfield County families.
Meeting & recognition
The annual meeting was held November 15, 2019, with Council President Rhonda Myers (Executive Director, Fairfield County ADAMH Board). The 2019 Firefly Award honorees — recognized for lighting the way for others — included Debra Bates (Lancaster City Schools Culinary Arts), Elyssa Wanosik and Kate Varga (JFS–Child Protective Services), Jenna Dodson (Board of Developmental Disabilities), Jessica McCoy (The Recovery Center), and Lt. Shad Caplinger (Ohio State Highway Patrol).
Programs
The report summarizes the Council's coordinated work across Help Me Grow Early Intervention, Multi-System Youth, Parent Education, and injury prevention.
Note: this year's report uses a decorative embedded font; the summary above reflects its readable content. Please open the original signed PDF for full details.
Overview
The 2018 report, themed “Creating Community Partnerships,” explains the Council's statutory foundation and its shared-planning work.
How FCFC works
Ohio Revised Code section 121.37 created the Governor's Children's Cabinet to streamline and coordinate government services for children and families, and established the framework for a Family and Children First Council in each of Ohio's 88 counties. Locally, the county commissioners establish the Fairfield County council.
Shared Plan
The Ohio Family and Children First shared-planning process provides the basis for collaborative community efforts, develops common and agreed-upon outcomes, and specifies a shared concept of success and how it will be measured — reflected in the Fairfield County FY 2017–2019 Community Shared Plan.
Meeting
Held November 16, 2018. Executive Director Donna Fox-Moore; Council President Marie Ward, Ph.D. Firefly Awards recognized program staff across Parent Education, Help Me Grow, Injury Prevention, and Multi-System Youth.
Overview
The 2017 report of the Fairfield County Family, Adult and Children First Council was presented November 17, 2017, restating the partnership's mission to improve the well-being of children and families in Fairfield County.
Purpose
The Council was created to help families seeking government services by streamlining and coordinating existing services — bringing public and private, non-profit and for-profit child- and family-serving organizations together around shared goals.
Programs & staff
- Parent Education — Pam Redding
- Help Me Grow — Tiffany Wilson
- Injury Prevention — Ann Probasco
- Multi-System Youth — Cindi West
Interim Executive Director: Tessie Swain. The meeting included Firefly Award presentations and election of 2018 officers (Marie Ward, Chair; Rhonda Myers, Vice-Chair).