Family Economic Security Publications

Nearly one in three working families in Georgia are low-income, earning less than 200 percent of the federal poverty threshold. These 323,000 Georgia families are working hard, yet not earning a sufficient income to meet the rising costs of housing, healthcare, child care, and other necessities. GBPI's Strengthening the Foundation series, part of the national Working Poor Families Project, assesses state policies and programs designed to help these low-income working families succeed in the labor market and achieve economic security.

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Page 1 of 4 Georgia Once Again Faces Budget Shortfall: Gov Orders Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in More Cuts As the state begins its 2011 fiscal year it is facing another potential budget shortfall of approx $500 million. This is on top of the $2.5 billion in cuts already implemented since FY 2009. Among the three causes is the failure by Congress to extend the enhanced Medicaid match for states. All departments are affected, including education, public safety, and regulatory watch dog functions. This report references alternative strategies to widespread cuts. Posted: 7/27/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend State Directs Majority of TANF Funds to Child Welfare Despite Rise in TANF Recipients for FY 2011 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. Posted: 6/24/2010 Category: Budget, Recovery Act, Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps Download Report    |    Email to a friend State Budget Slashes Services for Children, Poor, and the Elderly 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. Posted: 6/15/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Highlights of the House’s FY 2011 Budget Proposal for the Dept. of Human Services The House of Reps’ FY 2011 budget proposal cuts the Department of Human Services budget by an additional $11.4 million over the governor’s January proposal. DHS now faces a $33 million cut in state General Funds for FY 2011 compared to this year’s enacted budget. This is a 6.1 percent cut on top of several years of cuts to the department, which includes services for child abuse protection and the elderly. Posted: 4/16/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps, Download Report    |    Email to a friend White Collar, Blue Collar, Gray Hair: The Changing Composition of Georgia’s Workforce Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and AARP worked together to study data on workforce opportunities and how opportunities will impact aging workers. Their findings highlight the need to generate and sustain meaningful placements for individuals who, because of limited family income or life planning choices, desire to work well beyond retirement ages of 65 or 70. Posted: 3/16/2010 Category: Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Last Chance for Policymakers to Fund Forest Land Protection Act Reimbursements The Amended Fiscal Year 2010 budget should contain the first state reimbursements to certain schools and counties for property tax exemptions provided in the Forest Land Protection Act of 2008. Without these funds, several rural school districts face another loss of revenue, beyond the cuts to formula funding experienced across districts. Posted: 2/22/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Fact Sheet: Governor's Proposed Budgets Cut Vital Eligibility Workers The governor's proposed Department of Human Services (DHS) budget cut 138 eligibility workers in FY 2011. Eligibility workers process applications for Georgians in need of "safety net" supports. Georgia should use new federal funds to increase the number of eligibility caseworkers. Posted: 2/12/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Highlights of the Governor's FY 2011 Department of Human Services Budget Proposals The Department of Human Services is facing a wide variety of budget cuts in the FY 2011 budget proposal. These cuts come on top of the cuts already implemented in the FY 2010 budget. Posted: 1/25/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Recovery Act Directly Aiding Unemployed, Elderly, and Low-Income Families Data on dollars spent and Georgians helped to date with a county-by-county breakdown. Posted: 1/12/2010 Category: Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps, Recovery Act Download Report    |    Email to a friend Health Reform: Medicaid Expansion Is a Bargain for Georgia In Georgia and throughout the nation, millions of low-income adults are uninsured and lack access to any affordable health insurance. The health reform bill that has passed in the House of Representatives and the bill now making its way through the Senate would expand the Medicaid program to provide thousands of low-income, uninsured adults in Georgia with affordable health coverage while pumping billions of dollars into the state's economy. Posted: 11/19/2009 Category: Budget, Health, Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Page 1 of 4 Loading… Page 1 of 4 State of Working Georgia 2005 Using the latest census data GBPI looks at the conditions of Georgia's working families in 2004 and how those conditions compare to the nation, to the region and to the past. Posted: 9/6/2005 Category: Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend Real Cost of Raising Foster Children in Georgia: How Georgia's Per Diem Can Keep Up Georgia’s foster parents deserve the financial supports required to cover the costs of raising a child. Posted: 9/19/2005 Category: Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Fair Taxes for Low-Income Working Families: A Georgia Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) This policy brief evaluates the need for a Georgia EITC and provides design and cost considerations. Posted: 12/5/2005 Category: Taxes, Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) LIHEAP: An Alternative to the Natural Gas Sales Tax Reduction. Posted: 1/4/2006 Category: Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Georgia's Independent Living Program: How Georgia can Better Prepare Foster Youth The state has a responsibility to provid foster youth, community's children, with the financial assistance and services required to ensure a successful transition to self-sufficiency. Posted: 6/12/2006 Category: Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend A Georgia Minimum Wage Increase Would Benefit Hundreds of Thousands of Workers and Children An increase in the minimum wage would impact workers of all ages, race, gender and family composition. composition. Posted: 12/13/2006 Category: Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Workforce Development for Foster Youth; Funding Sources Georgia's guide to federal and state sources that support youth workforce development with a focus on foster youth. Posted: 4/23/2007 Category: Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Strengthening the Foundation: Investments in the Adult Workforce Build a More Prosperous Georgia The report explores public systems in Georgia that offer the opportunity for educational and skills advancement for working adults, along with the systems that encourage job growth and remove barriers to work and economic mobility. Posted: 1/9/2008 Category: Family Economic Security, Justice/Corrections Download Report    |    Email to a friend Georgia Minimum Wage This brief shows how an increase in the Georgia minimum wage would benefit hundreds of thousands of workers and their children. Posted: 8/13/2008 Category: Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend An Investment in Children and Working Families: Subsidized Child Care for Ages Birth Through Four This report examines Georgia's subsidized child care programs, including Child Care and Parents Services (CAPS), Pre-K, and Head Start/Early Head Start. Current capacity, spending, waitlists, and need are examined. Posted: 8/25/2008 Category: Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend Page 1 of 4 Loading… Page 1 of 4 A Georgia Minimum Wage Increase Would Benefit Hundreds of Thousands of Workers and Children An increase in the minimum wage would impact workers of all ages, race, gender and family composition. composition. Posted: 12/13/2006 Category: Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps, Download Report    |    Email to a friend An Investment in Children and Working Families: Subsidized Child Care for Ages Birth Through Four This report examines Georgia's subsidized child care programs, including Child Care and Parents Services (CAPS), Pre-K, and Head Start/Early Head Start. Current capacity, spending, waitlists, and need are examined. Posted: 8/25/2008 Category: Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend Brief: Proposed Budget Shortfalls for Child Care and Parent Services (CAPS) The governor's, Senate’s, and House of Representatives’ budgets all fall short of reducing or eliminating children on the CAPS waiting list, despite available ARRA funds. The Senate and House budgets fund a new DHR program for child care which has no public details, and remove or reduce TANF funds from the CAPS budget. Posted: 3/31/2009 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend Fact Sheet: Governor's Proposed Budgets Cut Vital Eligibility Workers The governor's proposed Department of Human Services (DHS) budget cut 138 eligibility workers in FY 2011. Eligibility workers process applications for Georgians in need of "safety net" supports. Georgia should use new federal funds to increase the number of eligibility caseworkers. Posted: 2/12/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Welfare and Food Stamps, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Fact Sheet: Recommendations for Using Federal Stimulus Child Care Funds Georgia’s Children and Parent Services (CAPS) program, which provides subsidized child care for children in low-income working families and families with parents engaged in education or training, draws its funds primarily from the federal CCDBG. CAPS currently serves a monthly average of 54,000 children, representing a fraction of eligible children. In fact, there are 300,000 eligible children under age 6. Posted: 3/30/2009 Category: Family Economic Security, Recovery Act Download Report    |    Email to a friend Fair Taxes for Low-Income Working Families: A Georgia Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) This policy brief evaluates the need for a Georgia EITC and provides design and cost considerations. Posted: 12/5/2005 Category: Taxes, Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend Georgia Minimum Wage This brief shows how an increase in the Georgia minimum wage would benefit hundreds of thousands of workers and their children. Posted: 8/13/2008 Category: Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend Georgia Once Again Faces Budget Shortfall: Gov Orders Hundreds of Millions of Dollars in More Cuts As the state begins its 2011 fiscal year it is facing another potential budget shortfall of approx $500 million. This is on top of the $2.5 billion in cuts already implemented since FY 2009. Among the three causes is the failure by Congress to extend the enhanced Medicaid match for states. All departments are affected, including education, public safety, and regulatory watch dog functions. This report references alternative strategies to widespread cuts. Posted: 7/27/2010 Category: Budget, Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Georgia Unemployment Benefits Under ARRA The American Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) contains several provisions to stimulate the economy by filling gaps in the safety net for millions of unemployed workers while they look for jobs. A U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) study found that every dollar paid out in unemployment benefits causes the economy to grow by $2.15 as workers spend these dollars on basics like housing and food. Posted: 3/13/2009 Category: Family Economic Security Download Report    |    Email to a friend Georgia's Independent Living Program: How Georgia can Better Prepare Foster Youth The state has a responsibility to provid foster youth, community's children, with the financial assistance and services required to ensure a successful transition to self-sufficiency. Posted: 6/12/2006 Category: Family Economic Security, Download Report    |    Email to a friend Page 1 of 4 Loading…