Bankruptcy petitions, high credit card indebtedness, and lack of financial literacy are at an all-time high in Georgia. There is a high demand for family financial management counselors and for M.S. and Ph.D. graduates to fill positions in higher education institutions. The Department of Housing and Consumer Economics is revising the undergraduate major to meet the criteria for Certified Financial Planner credentialing. An endowed professorship and graduate scholarships will help attain goals in this strategic direction. Promote resilience among diverse families.
Diversity characterizes Georgia's families.
There is a critical need for careful demographic and contextual studies to understand families in today's rapidly changing society and to develop and rigorously test intervention and outreach programs. While segments of Georgia's population have achieved greater prosperity in the past decade, large numbers of children continue to be disadvantaged by conditions of poverty. Faculty in the Department of Child and Family Development will be even more effective in promoting family res-ilience with increased resources for endowed professorships and graduate student support. Reserve Georgia's material culture in the Historic Costume Collection. Georgia's diverse populations contributed a rich heritage in the material culture of dress and accessories.