GSAN is a proud division of Voices for Georgia's Children

Voices for Georgia’s Children (Voices) amplifies the needs of Georgia’s youngest residents in the chambers of the General Assembly, as well at the federal and local levels of government.  Voices is an independent, non-partisan, information clearinghouse and coalition builder. We promote pragmatic policies that recognize children’s needs are interconnected and best met holistically. Voices champions the “whole child” approach and is leading a movement of public and private stakeholders to advance systemic change on behalf of Georgia’s children.

We achieve our influence through advocacy with elected and appointed officials and through extensive collaboration and engagement of local, state and national organizations.  We partner with academic and nonprofit organizations with deep knowledge of key children’s issues to ensure a research-base to our policy agenda.  We convene leadership teams of organizations with common objectives for collective advocacy; and we engage and educate a broad network of individuals and organizations to encourage a community culture that gives priority to children.  Through traditional and social media we educate and encourage the larger community to support the needs of children.

National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks 

As the Statewide Afterschool Network, GSAN is a part of the National Network of Statewide Afterschool Networks, which brings together established statewide afterschool networks in their collective mission to build partnerships and policies that are committed to the development and sustainability of quality afterschool programs. These partnerships – funded through the support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation – are focused on actively engaging key decision makers in support of school-based/school-linked afterschool programs, particularly in underserved communities.

Currently 50 statewide afterschool networks are funded to coordinate and influence the systems that support the success of children and young people. The National Network is centered around three goals:

Goal 1: Create a sustainable structure of statewide, regional and local partnerships, particularly school-community partnerships, focused on supporting policy development at all levels.
Goal 2: Support the development and growth of statewide policies that will secure the resources that are needed to sustain new and existing afterschool programs.
Goal 3: Support statewide systems to ensure programs are of high quality.

National Afterschool Association State Affiliate

GSAN is the newest state affiliate of the National Afterschool Association (NAA), the membership association for professionals who work with children and youth in diverse school and community-based settings to provide a wide variety of extended learning opportunities and care during out-of-school hours. GSAN's affiliate status will make it easier for you to join the NAA community with an Ambassador level membership, providing several benefits and value for professionals for FREE! From there, individuals may upgrade to an Executive level member for $99/annually designed specifically for afterschool leaders.

Becoming a state affiliate allows a partnership with the national association of professionals who work with or on the behalf of children and youth during out-of-school time. Similarly to GSAN, NAA is on a mission to promote development, provide education, and encourage advocacy for the out-of-school-time community to further the afterschool profession. Together, we can strengthen the capacity of the field, and the knowledge and competency of the afterschool community.