Commissioner discusses community partnerships and prevention services
Jones-Gaston announces 11 community partnerships with expanded community ambassador roles. She details ACS's 44 provider agencies operating 127 prevention programs with 10,277 slots, and notes community referrals increased from 12% in January 2023 to 27% in March 2026.
I have dedicated my career to identifying ways to support and uplift families and communities so that they can be safe and thrive.
As I take on this role, I remain committed to lifting up family-centered, prevention-driven solutions that improve outcomes and transform how systems support children, families, and communities.
I am committed to keeping children safe by providing ACS child protective staff with the tools, supervision, and training they need to make sound decisions.
And I am committed to ensuring ACS helps to provide families and communities with the support they need to succeed.
ACS will soon announce the providers recommended for the 11 community partnerships across the city.
Community partnerships are neighborhood coalitions that enhance child and family well-being through strategies responsive to each community's specific wants and needs.
By listening to the voices and ideas of community members, the community partnerships work to increase coordination among service providers, connect families to resources, and fill programming gaps.
The new contracts will expand the role of community ambassadors, trusted community residents who build relationships with and connect families
to information and resources.
I'm looking forward to the implementation of these new contracts and the positive impact the partnerships will continue to have.
ACS currently contracts with 44 provider agencies operating 127 programs for family services, previously referred to as prevention services.
Across the system, ACS contracts for 10,277 slots, meaning more than 10,000 families can receive services at any one point in time.
In calendar year 2025, a little over 30,000 children in 14,000 families received child welfare, family support, and therapeutic treatment services.
ACS and our providers have been intentional about supporting communities, engaging families, and connecting them to resources.
Through this work, we've increased community referrals from 12% of all families served in January 2023 to 27% of them in March of 2026.
These include referrals from schools, healthcare providers, and families themselves.