Georgia has 13.7% cumulatively less TANF funds than it had to use for families struggling to make ends meet prior to the Great Recession. Even with less available funding and rising poverty, policymakers continue to use 60% of TANF funds to replace state funds for child welfare-related services while cutting TANF funds from state programs that directly satisfy its core self-sufficiency purposes. Download the PDF.

Lawmakers cut Department of Community Health by $236.8 million and increased support for the Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities by 9.3 percent. There are no cuts to Medicaid or PeachCare eligibility; the budget has new revenue from a provider fee to increase reimbursement rates to hospitals. The budget is heavily reliant on enhanced Medicaid funds from the federal Recovery Act that are about to expire. Download the PDF.

The Great Recession has resulted in the worst fiscal crisis in more than 70 years, resulting in multi-billion dollar deficits. Although Recovery Act funds help, lawmakers’ strategy to slash impacts every facet of state government, resulting in severe service cuts as well as layoffs/furloughs of thousands of teachers/employees. The irony is that as Georgia is less equipped to provide services, more families require basic help. Download the PDF.

Responding to Georgia’s low projected revenues for this upcoming fiscal year, Georgia legislators and the governor agreed to cut $33.5 million in State General Funds from the Department of Human Services (DHS) fiscal year 2011 General Budget compared to the current year’s enacted budget. Download the PDF.

Georgia’s new budget assumes Recovery Act Medicaid funds will be extended past Dec. 31, when it is expires. The Senate is considering legislation to extend it temporarily (the House already stripped it out of a bill). Without it, Georgia would need to find hundreds of millions in new revenues or significant new budget cuts this year. If state lawmakers cut Medicaid, the state would lose $1 billion. Read the facts here. Download the PDF.