Newton County Family Connection is establishing a Drug-Free Community Coalition to strengthen supports that prevent youth substance use and abuse. - Project Abstract – Newton County Family Connection, Drug Free Community Coalition Newton County, Georgia is on the outer fringe of the Atlanta metropolitan area. Located 35 minutes from downtown Atlanta, its historic districts and rural beauty have successfully blended with urban convenience and amenities. At 278 square miles, Newton is a mid-sized county that currently ranks as the 12th fastest growing county of its size in the country. It ranges from rural to urban fringe, but is generally considered suburban. The county has five municipalities, Covington, Oxford, Porterdale, Mansfield and Newborn. Covington, the county seat, has received the Excellence Award from the Georgia Municipal Association and Georgia Trend Magazine for its fiscal management, public safety, citizen participation, cultural activities, community partnerships and downtown viability. Newton County has many employment opportunities from tech to healthcare, retail to industrial. Known as the original Hollywood of the South, the county is a mecca for the television and film industry. Scenic filming locations, moderate temperatures, a nearby international airport and community film production services make it an ideal location for Georgia’s active film and television industry. To date, 126 productions, 178 screenplays and1034 television episodes have been filmed in Covington and Newton County. With a population of 109,541, Newton’s semi-rural nature gives it one of the lowest population densities in the region with 382 people per square mile. The racial/ethnic demographics are: 48% Black/African American, 44% Caucasian, 5% Hispanic/Latino, 1% Asian, 2% Mixed Race and Other. 26% of the residents are under age 18. Poverty has increased recently; families with children living below the poverty level make up 32% of the population. The Newton County Public Schools have 20,149 students with three high schools, five middle schools and thirteen elementary schools. In the past, the graduation rate was lower than the state average, but due in large part to strategies undertaken by the Newton County Family Connection (NCFC), this has improved significantly and now stands at 87%, ranking high in both the region and state. NCFC has been addressing literacy in the community since 1997 and provided over 12,000 adults with GED supports and education to prepare their children for school success. Now, over 85% of Newton’s adults have high school diplomas or GEDs. Newton is home to historic Oxford College, birthplace of Emory University. This small two-year college has about 1000 students from all over the U.S. and 28 countries who are required to live on campus. Community involvement and volunteerism by the student body is strongly encouraged and contributes to the county’s strong standard of community service. Newton has a large faith community that includes many Christian denominations, Judaism, and a growing Islamic population. Currently, there are no temples or mosques in the county, but there are several located in nearby counties. Approximately 6% of the residents are foreign born and 6.5% speak a language other than English (primarily Spanish). Newton is also home to a small but growing LGBTQ community that currently accounts for less than 1% of the population. For years, residents were in denial that alcohol and other drugs presented problems in Newton County. Thanks to the Newton County Family Connection’s Drug Free Community Coalition, those perceptions have been changing. The NCFC has long history of bringing people to the table to address a multitude of problems, and their DFCC has continued this tradition by tackling youth substance use. The recent Alcohol Prevention Project received widespread support for multiple strategies to reduce access and change the norms of acceptance to those that recognize no-use is the better option. Those successes set the stage for the next step in addressing youth substance abuse – becoming a Drug Free Communities coalition.
