Georgia Department of Community Affairs

“Committed” is the word Karen Young, Grants Specialist, uses to describe The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA). Created in 1977 to serve as an advocate for local governments, the mission of the DCA is to “Partner with communities to help create a climate of success for Georgia’s families and businesses.”

The Governor and General Assembly merged the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority (GHFA) with the Department of Community Affairs on July 1, 1996. DCA is a substantial force for serving housing counseling needs for the State of Georgia with over 415 employees and 14 sub-grantees under the most recent Round 7 of NFMC funding. The State’s Housing Counseling Program was implemented in 1998 and has served over 35,000 households through sub-grantees who provide an array of services including pre-purchase, post-purchase and foreclosure prevention counseling.

DCA has been involved in a number of innovative programs and collaborations. Most recent is the Building Bridges Collaboration. Joining forces were the DCA and the NeighborWorks America Southern District Office staff in October 2009 in order to promote collaborations among housing counseling and human services agencies as well as other housing professionals throughout rural Georgia. The major focus has been on providing a continuity of services for families and individuals in need. Wells Fargo joined Building Bridges as a human and financial capital partner. Born primarily from the negative financial impact experienced by individuals and families arising from the stressed economy prior to and during the foreclosure crisis, the Building Bridges collaboration has addressed a critical void in Georgia bringing together information and resources in a time when many agencies had been unable to keep doors open. Rural families have now been given access to services they otherwise would not have had prior to this innovative collaboration.