Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Hunger Risk for 21,100 Georgians in New Year December 8, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson People in about one in seven Georgia households struggle with hunger, which often leads to costly health complications, lower energy levels and a diminished ability to concentrate. But as 2017 rapidly approaches, an estimated 21,100 Georgians will be at an increased risk for hunger due to a geographic expansion of time limits on food assistance. […] Read more » food stamps SNAP
Blog Cash and Safety Net Health Justice Melissa Johnson Worker Justice Federal Food Assistance Works for Georgia Children October 12, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson We encourage children to dream big every day. We tell them they can be doctors, astronauts or anything else they want to be as long as they work hard. However, some children are born into families that need help putting food on the table before their children can dream about anything more than the next […] Read more » SNAP
Budget and Taxes Health Justice Melissa Johnson Reports Worker Justice Economic Opportunity Agenda for Georgia Women August 25, 2016 / March 12, 2021 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Economic Opportunity Agenda for Georgia Women Introduction – Why An Economic Opportunity Agenda for Georgia Women? The economic status of women in Georgia is a key factor in the overall health and future of the state’s economy. Women represent a majority of Georgia’s adult population[1] and nearly half of the workforce.[2] In more than half of all Georgia households with children, […] Read more » child care EITC medicaid Melissa Johnson wages
Blog Melissa Johnson Former Mayor Shirley Franklin, Ms. Foundation CEO Teresa Younger Keynote Policy Forum August 17, 2016 / January 16, 2020 by Melissa Johnson The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute is set to present a half-day policy forum Aug. 26, 2016 in Midtown Atlanta, Women Working Ahead: An Economic Opportunity Agenda for Georgia Women. We are pleased to feature two engaging speakers with unique perspectives on the importance of women’s economic security, former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Ms. Foundation […] Read more » events
Blog Melissa Johnson Worker Justice Let’s Elevate Georgia Women for a Stronger State August 8, 2016 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson For more than 12 years you’ve depended on the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute to cast a broad vision of a more prosperous Georgia, shine a light on the path to achieving that vision and show ways to help make the vision reality. On Aug 26, 2016, we will rise to that challenge once again […] Read more » child care events family leave wages Women Working Ahead
Budget Primer Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Reports Georgia Human Services Budget Primer for State Fiscal Year 2017 July 20, 2016 / April 14, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Human Services Budget Overview Georgia’s Department of Human Services oversees state spending to protect children and the elderly and provide non-medical assistance to people with low incomes. State funding for the agency is $642 million in 2017, less than 3 percent of state spending. Child welfare-related services represent the largest share of the department’s responsibilities, […] Read more » Budget Primer Budget Primer FY2017 child care Safety Net
Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia Families Need State to Support New Child Care Plan July 14, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Georgia Families Need State to Support New Child Care Plan Georgia’s new and improved plan to expand access to quality child care for families earning low incomes took effect in June. The state’s 2017 budget for the fiscal year that starts this month, however, is $103 million short of what’s needed to implement the plan according to a new GBPI analysis. If this wide funding […] Read more » child care
Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Reports Help Needed to Meet Georgia’s Laudable Child Care Goals July 14, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Georgia’s plan to expand access to quality child care for families earning low incomes became effective this June, but the state budget that takes effect this month is $103 million short of what’s needed to implement the plan. A proposal approved by federal regulators includes increased income eligibility limits, lowered family co-payments and higher payments […] Read more » child care
Blog Inclusive Economy for Immigrants Melissa Johnson Worker Justice Georgia’s Tuition Equity Opportunity Will Survive U.S. Supreme Court Case April 15, 2016 / April 2, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on Georgia’s Tuition Equity Opportunity Will Survive U.S. Supreme Court Case Georgia leaders debated for years whether the state should allow young immigrants to pay in-state college tuition if they are eligible to work without threat of deportation. Monday the U.S Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in an important immigration case that could bring new clarity to the extent of executive authority. The case […] Read more » daca immigration Tuition Equity
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Policy Areas TANF Time Limits Undercut Workforce Development March 17, 2016 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson This week Georgia legislators in the House Health and Human Services Committee moved to rend the state’s frayed safety net, narrowly approving a measure to cut lifetime eligibility for cash assistance 25 percent. If Senate Bill 389 passes, Georgia parents could only receive cash aid from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for […] Read more » TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Workforce Development
