Newton County Head Start Center

The staff here needs to be forced to take a course on people skills. They are not friendly and act as if you’re bothering them. They give you misinformation and get mad when you fill out paperwork wrong. It makes having to take care of your business very frustrating. I can only hope that one day they restaff this office with individuals that actually want to do the job

I cannot contact my case worker, and I have an urgent situation. The phone number listed on the letter I received belongs to the wrong person. I visited the Covington DFCS office on Friday, but no one was able to help, and I was told they could not provide my caseworker’s email. They refused to give me their names, too, as I was about to file a complaint with their superiors. Worse experience ever!

This office doesn't even deserve a 1 rating, wish there were other options. My mom who's elderly and disabled moved from another state since last year and the application for snap was put in from September 9, 2024. It's now Feb 4, 2025 and nothing has be done to process the application. We have been to the office on multiple occasions and the situation was escalated by a supervisor that promised us it would be taken care of but nothing is being done. My mom also was automatically approved by Georgia department of public health when we changed her address from the other state because SSI recipients are automatically eligible for Medicaid. However this department sent a notice that she's not eligible for medical assistance. Therefore, I went to this office and showed them my mom's Medicaid card from Georgia department of health because they kept saying she wasn't eligible based on what they saw in the system from the social worker. The clerk then spoke with his supervisor about the matter and we were told the social worker probably not experience with this kind of case because if she was approve by the department of health that means she is eligible. I asked for an escalation again to the SW supervisor and was given the case manager number and the supervisor of the SW. However, nothing is being done. I cant reach anyone on the phone. No one calls back or answers. This is crazy the elderly and people who need help are not getting the help they deserve. I don't know what's going on with all federal agencies but something needs to be done. **Update 2/5 from office visit: We took another trip to the office today and spoke with Ms. Nolley who was so clear in her explanation and was helpful. She gave us the right information needed. There need to be more workers that are knowledgeable in their line of work so the public can be provided with the right information about their benefits.

This is by far the most unprofessional place ever. There is an older woman that works at this location who always seem to come to the window with an attitude before she even greets you. It’s really unsettling to have to interact with the front office team because it is as if the people coming there are a bother to them. Let us remind you that you all decided to work in a place of service. This is a job that you chose to accept. They just give that office a bad reputation. I have tried to get assistance some 9/25 and still waiting. Being told that someone will call me, and no one has called me yet. I received a notice about an interview two days late from the scheduled interview date, so how was I suppose to know, especially since I didn’t receive correspondence via email. I updated my phone number, and they still called the wrong number. So I wonder who is really managing this office because it is horrible.

Working with Government offices, I never had high expectations and this office is no different. When I initially applied for SNAP, I had no issue. I had the phone interview on the day scheduled and received assistance. However, when it was to time to renew, everything went array. I received the email that the phone interview would be conducted on 12/9. The notice states that I will receive a call within the hour of the scheduled appointment time. From my understanding, that means, THEY will call YOU and NOT YOU calling them! After the hour went by with no phone call, I called the office, once I found a numbe that works. The number listed on the noticec ending in 4743 is "unassigned" and automatically disconnects. Of course now one answered after going through all the prompts of the valid number. I left a voicemail message explaining the situation. I wasn't really hopefully about a call back and had planned on going to the office after the 24 response time had expired. Surprise! They returned my voicemail and during the course of conversation, I found out somethings that may be helpful to the person reading this: 1) Your representative works from home. I think we all have the right assumption that they actually go the office, but they don't always. Missed a call? Check your phone settings. I had to deactivate my SPAM protection because they could call from a block number (which may be their residence line). Until you get your benefits, turn your BLOCK, SPAM, and PRIVATE numbers off so they can get through. 2) Bring your proof! Print or take pictures of every notice they give you. I even took a screenshot of the Google page for DFCS because it says its CLOSED on Monday. The rep I spoke to told me that the office is opened Monday -Friday, 9 am to 4pm. So why doesn't the PUBLIC information match? 3) If you believe in GOD or whatever higher power you believe in, PRAY before every interaction. Pray that your case goes to the RIGHT person who actually does their job. PRAYER WORKS! I honestly believe, I had I not prayed before I made the call and left the message, I wouldn't have gotten a follow up. All workers there are not bad. They just get camouflaged by the people who actually do care. If all else fails, go to the office and get the name and number of your representative. BE NICE AND HUMBLE. Unalive them with KINDNESS! Yes, people there are on a power trip because claimants come in asking for assistance so they think they are better. But they WILL REAP WHAT THEY SOW. No one is too good and it could be them next week, next month, next year in our situation going a filing for government assistance. Don't worry about them. Do and conduct your accordingly so that you can get the results YOU NEED! This is about YOUR livelihood, not theirs!