Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia Passes up $92 Million in Federal Help for People With Disabilities October 10, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 2 Comments on Georgia Passes up $92 Million in Federal Help for People With Disabilities People with disabilities have known for years that Georgia misses out on federal money that could help them prepare for employment. A new Georgia Budget and Policy Institute report adds up the full extent of Georgia’s missed opportunity from 2009 to 2012 – $92 million. Drastic cuts to state investment in specialized job training, counseling […] Read more »
Author Cash and Safety Net Library Melissa Johnson Policy Areas Reports Georgians with Disabilities Miss Out on $92 Million in Federal Grants October 10, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson As the number of Georgians with disabilities grew over the last four years, funding that could have helped prepare them for employment decreased. Drastic cuts to state investment in specialized job training, counseling and other vocational rehabilitation led Georgia to leave $92 million in federal funding on the table, enough to serve roughly 28,000 more […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Faulty Premise Leads to “Work Requirements” in Bill that Cuts $39 Billion from Food Stamps September 27, 2013 / January 17, 2020 by Melissa Johnson The U.S. House passed a bill last week to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP,” commonly called food stamps) by $39 billion over ten years. Some House members characterized the bill as an introduction of “work requirements,” but the real effect of the bill would just make it extremely hard for about 168,000 unemployed […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson New U.S. Census Report: Georgia’s Child Poverty Ranking Worsens September 19, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on New U.S. Census Report: Georgia’s Child Poverty Ranking Worsens Georgia joined the ranks of the ten worst states with the highest percentage of children living in poverty in 2012, moving from eleventh to sixth, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report. It’s the first time Georgia ranked among the ten worst since the ranking was first reported in 2005. The large number of […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Georgia’s September Bill is Due, but Unemployed Georgians Stuck with Most of the Tab September 13, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Georgia has to pay its monthly bills, just like the people who call the state home. This month, Georgia has an important bill to pay – the interest payment on the federal loan to the unemployment insurance trust fund. Georgia plans to stick its financially fragile unemployed workers with most of this bill, possibly hurting […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Hunger a Struggle for More than One in Six Georgia Households Last Year September 5, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson People in more than one in six Georgia households endured serious problems affording adequate nutritious food at some point last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said this week. Of 644,000 Georgia households experiencing this food insecurity, some 248,000 experienced very low food security – meaning that one or more household members had to eat […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson About 168,000 Struggling Georgians at Risk as U.S. House Pushes Food Stamp Cuts August 14, 2013 / January 16, 2020 by Melissa Johnson When the U.S. House returns from its recess in a few weeks, representatives are expected to consider a bill that slashes $40 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. A cut that size eliminates benefits for up to four million people in the U.S. In Georgia, about […] Read more » farm bill food stamps Melissa Johnson SNAP
Author Budget Primer Cash and Safety Net Featured Library Melissa Johnson Policy Areas Reports GBPI 2014 Primer: Human Services July 9, 2013 / April 14, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Georgia’s spending to help children, the poor and seniors is overseen by the state Department of Human Services, which has a 2014 budget of $486 million, or about 3 percent of the total. Budget cuts in recent years have strained the state’s safety net designed to safeguard its most vulnerable people from abuse. Download the […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson Unemployment Benefits Will Run Out Faster for Georgians Laid Off After July 1 June 20, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson Georgians who lose their jobs after July 1 can expect one less week in unemployment insurance benefits – maybe enough to make a car payment, pay for the family’s prescriptions, or simply put food on the table. And it’s not because the economy is so much better. It’s because Georgia lawmakers decided struggling families should […] Read more »
Author Blog Cash and Safety Net Melissa Johnson New Report Finds More than Half of Georgia’s Seniors Struggle Economically June 12, 2013 / January 15, 2020 by Melissa Johnson | 1 Comment on New Report Finds More than Half of Georgia’s Seniors Struggle Economically Proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare would do more harm in Georgia than most other states. Nearly 54 percent of older Georgians struggle to pay for basic necessities, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Only two states – California and Hawaii – and the District of Columbia have a […] Read more »
