Reports

Despite the drop in federal TANF funds, Georgia policymakers continue to use federal TANF funds to replace state funds without regard to prioritizing state programs that directly promote family self-sufficiency.  For FY 2013, lawmakers allocated 43 percent of the federal TANF to satisfy TANF’s direct purposes, while 57 percent of… [Read more]

Georgia’s reputation as a leader in early childhood education is slipping away. Despite an abundance of evidence that early learning is a key to success later in life, particularly for low-income and at-risk youth, recent spending cuts mean Georgia’s Pre-Kindergarten program will serve 2,000 fewer children in the coming school… [Read more]

Georgia’s public health challenges such as obesity, infectious disease and low birthweight continue to increase in importance, but Georgia’s per-capita investment in public health programs has declined in recent years due to a shrinking state funding commitment coupled with a growing state population. Download the full report.
 
Related… [Read more]

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities was established as a stand-alone agency beginning in FY 2010 (July 1, 2009) after the break-up of the Department of Human Resources. While Georgia’s programs serving individuals with developmental disabilities and behavioral health needs sustained cuts in FY 2009 along with other… [Read more]

Despite enrollment growth to Georgia’s Medicaid and PeachCare programs and the increased cost of health care in recent years, Georgia appropriated fewer General Fund dollars to programs in FY 2013 than the enacted FY 2009 budget, which preceded the recession. Download the full report
 
Related Materials:
Medicaid… [Read more]

The FY 2013 Budget Analysis: Human Services report examines key trends within the Department of Human Resources (DHS), including budget cuts and staff reduction and restructuring all while demand for services has increased. What takes DHS to a new low in FY 2013; however, is the loss of $37.3 million in… [Read more]

The FY 2013 Budget Analysis: PK-12 Education report reviews the enacted FY 2013 budget and the impact it has on early childhood and K-12 education.   Education leaders face the challenge of educating more than 1.7 million youth in a new normal environment – largely defined by fewer available resources at… [Read more]

A review of the enacted FY 2013 budget for Higher Education examines the new normal era of fewer resources and heightened expectations for Georgia’s education leaders. Georgia’s university and technical college systems have experienced steady growth in enrollment over the last decade while enduring decade-long cuts in state funding.
[Read more]

State leaders have already cut nearly $2 billion in spending since before the recession, a truly massive blow to the state’s economic health and Governor Deal has signed four bills into law that will create an approximately $85 million shortfall in the next two fiscal years. Although some of the policy… [Read more]

The Georgia Budget & Policy Institute’s new report Georgia’s Income Tax Essential for State’s Economy and Families examines Georgia’s income tax, provides a comprehensive overview of the economies of no-income-tax states, and outlines why income taxes are essential to Georgia’s well-being.
According to GBPI’s report, there is no evidence that… [Read more]