History
- The Family Nurturing Center of Georgia (FNC-GA) formed in 1997 to provide training and program materials to local agencies in northwest Georgia, as part of the Nurturing Georgia's Families® Project.
- In 2011 FNC-GA began doing business as "HEARTS for Families."
- HEARTS trains community facilitators to teach parenting skills from the various evidence-based Nurturing Parenting Programs® (NPP).
- HEARTS is now contracted with the GA Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Governor's Office for Children and Families to support programs throughout the state.
History of NPP:
Initial research and development for the Nurturing Parenting Programs occurred in the early 1980s by Dr. Stephen Bavolek to give agencies and individuals the tools to treat and prevent child abuse and neglect. National implementation began in 1985. Nurturing is now the central theme of many parenting programs throughout the country. Over the past 30 years, about 14,000 agencies have implemented NPP worldwide, reaching an estimated 1.1 million families. Approximately 30 studies have been published or described in evaluation reports. NPP are currently being implemented in all 50 States plus Australia, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, England, France, Greenland, Guam, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the Virgin Islands, and the West Indies.