The director

of Fayette County Department of Family and Children Services, Mary H.

Davis, along with its board of directors, has expressed its greatest concern.

The matter

boils down to protection and safety issues, both for adults as well as

children.

Adult protection

services account for 50 percent of all protection services it renders.

"I realize,'

Davis said, "that Fayette County has one of the highest per capita

incomes in the state. Unfortunately, spousal and child abuse and neglect

are not confined to a specific income family.

"We do

not just serve clients in our offices. We see them in their homes and

we encourage those with problems to call us. Obviously, everything is

quite confidential and we will seek to get them all the help available,

whether it is from DFACS or other sources."

The department

currently has a staff of 20 full-time case managers and four on the clerical

staff. A new position will be filled in November for a Community Resource

Specialist, who will be a liaison between this department, schools and

the community in general.

The agency,

a division of the Georgia Department of Human Resources, has seen an increase

in its case load. In this past August, there was a total of 2,801 cases,

with Adult Medicaid and other Medicaid-related requests leading the number

of cases with 912 and 1,142 respectively.

"It is

our intention," said Davis, "to link up and work with all areas

of the community. We are here to serve the whole community and we ask

that citizens let us know in what manner we can best to that. Please do

not hesitate to call and ask for me personally. I promise to see that

your concerns are met, one way or another."

DFACS is located

at 905 Highway 85 South and can be reached at 770-460-2555. Office hours

are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.