Three issues Georgia parents are most concerned about

Three issues Georgia parents are most concerned about

Three issues Georgia parents are most concerned about

According to a new report from Emory University, ”The State of Child Health and Well-Being in Georgia 2025,” quality of education, mental health, and the effects of social media are top concerns for Georgia parents. 

The report is based on a statewide survey, which asked parents to share what they’re most worried about when it comes to their children’s health, safety, and well-being. The leading issues are not isolated worries. Instead, they are the daily realities shared by Georgia families from a variety of backgrounds and types of communities. 

Parents are most worried about education and school quality 

More Georgia parents cited education and school quality as a top concern than any other issue.

Confidence in schools is slipping across all communities, especially among Black and Hispanic families, who are more likely to rate their local schools as “fair” or “poor.” For 35% of Black parents, education quality was the second highest concern behind gun violence. 

Education is also the top issue across geographic locations: 36% of rural parents and 39% of non-rural parents said it was their highest concern, followed by social media and bullying. 

When it comes to schools, safety is just as much top-of-mind for parents as the quality of education. Overall, 60% of parents surveyed feel that schools are less safe than in the past. They overwhelmingly support measures to improve school safety, including mental health awareness and laws promoting safe firearm storage.

Image: Emory Center for Child Health Policy, “State of Child Health and Well-Being in Georgia 2025

Mental health concerns are growing

According to the report, as many as 15% of Georgia children have depression, 25% have ADHD, and 31% have anxiety. Some of these children have received an official diagnosis, while others have not—though their parents are concerned about the possibility.

Even more alarming: 63% of kids who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition aren’t yet receiving the care they need.

Georgia parents are trying to respond. Encouragingly, most parents say they feel comfortable talking to their kids about suicide and emotional well-being. 

But access to mental health services remains a major issue. Long waitlists, provider shortages, and geographic barriers keep kids from the help they need—especially in rural areas. These challenges can snowball into higher rates of school dropouts, encounters with the juvenile justice system, substance abuse, and other negative outcomes. 

Social media is fueling anxiety for both parents and kids

Georgia parents are also worried about the impact of digital life on their children’s well-being. Social media ranked among the top three concerns statewide, right alongside bullying and gun violence.

Parents recognize the growing physical and emotional tolls of social media on young people—everything from unrealistic expectations and cyberbullying to struggles with sleep and behavioral regulation. 

The takeaway is clear: families want better tools for managing digital risks—and they need help to set institutional boundaries that protect kids’ mental and emotional health.

The good news is that Georgia lawmakers are recognizing the urgency of this issue. In 2025, Georgia lawmakers passed the Distraction-Free Schools Act (HB 340) to limit cellphone use for K-8 public school students during the school day. Under the bill, phones could be restricted from the start of the school day until the end, ensuring students can fully engage in learning and schools can foster an environment that supports focus and mental well-being. 

Listening to parents is key to moving forward

For policymakers and community leaders, these findings shed light on where Georgia’s families need better solutions and support. Giving families more school choice options, improving school safety and learning environments, and strengthening access to mental health care are all areas where smart policy reforms and community-based efforts can help remove barriers to opportunity, especially for our most vulnerable communities.

Image Credits: Canva, Emory Center for Child Health Policy

What Georgia can learn from other states about fixing welfare

What Georgia can learn from other states about fixing welfare

Welfare reform in Utah, Louisiana, and Arkansas gives Georgia a roadmap for improving our own system.

What Georgia can learn from other states about fixing welfare

Safety net programs are meant to help people in difficult times—but the system’s overwhelming rules and disconnected services are trapping people in a cycle of frustration and dependence instead of offering them a clear path forward.

This unfortunate reality exists in most states—Georgia included. But there is good news: Some states are beginning to rethink welfare, modeling positive changes that Georgia and other states could adopt.

What’s not working about the current welfare system?

Our nation’s welfare system is anything but simple. There are over 80 programs at the federal level alone, each with different goals and conflicting eligibility rules. For someone who needs help, this maze of programs is slow and overwhelming to navigate. People must visit multiple offices, fill out the same forms again and again, and talk to different caseworkers. 

On top of this, the entire safety net is separate from workforce services that help people gain skills and find jobs. This set-up not only delays aid, but it also takes time and energy away from pursuing long-term solutions, such as stable employment.

Work isn’t just a way to earn income—it’s the gateway to independence and a profound source of dignity and purpose. Most Americans agree that it’s important to have a well-functioning safety net that provides temporary assistance and support for the most vulnerable. But the safety net should be a springboard to a better life, not a trap that holds people back once they’re in it.

How Other States Are Making Welfare Work Better

Arkansas: Evaluating What Works and What Doesn’t

During its recent legislative session, Arkansas passed a law (Senate Bill 50) to set up a task force to review the state’s workforce and social service programs. The idea is simple yet powerful: make sure welfare programs are meeting their intended goals.

By taking stock of these programs, Arkansas aims to find inefficiencies, improve coordination among agencies, and maximize the help provided to those in need. The audit’s results will inform future legislative decisions by offering the state a clear, data-driven picture of what works and what doesn’t. 

Louisiana: Creating One Door to Work 

With a poverty rate of 18.9%, Louisiana is one of the poorest states in the country—a situation that’s even more difficult to overcome because of the state’s disjointed welfare system.  

In 2025, Louisiana addressed this problem by passing One Door legislation modeled after Utah’s successful safety net design. The reform merges the Temporary Aid to Needy Families program (TANF) and Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs into a new program called LA Works. It will help welfare recipients get the social services help they need while also connecting them to employment opportunities.

This legislation came from an intentional effort by state leaders to understand the outcomes of Louisiana’s safety net system. The first step was a performance audit of SNAP, WIOA, TANF, and CCAP programs. The audit uncovered several inefficiencies that confirmed these programs were not meeting their stated goals of providing temporary help while empowering individuals toward self-sufficiency.

The audit led to an executive order establishing the Louisiana Workforce and Social Services Reform Task Force. This group developed recommendations for consolidating Louisiana’s welfare and work programs, which ultimately led state leaders to pass One Door legislation with unanimous bipartisan support. 

With One Door to Work, states can simply the safety net system for both administrators and recipients and give people a clearer path to a good job and a better life. 

With One Door to Work, states can simply the safety net system for both administrators and recipients and give people a clearer path to a good job and a better life. 

Utah: Proving It Can Be Done

Utah is the longest-running example of successful safety-net reform. It implemented the One Door model in the 1990s, integrating welfare programs with workforce support systems. Instead of navigating separate offices for benefits and employment services, individuals in Utah use a single, unified system. This approach has consistently yielded results:

Utah’s success proves that connecting welfare and employment services isn’t just possible; it’s effective. 

The state is continuing to explore innovative ways to help families overcome poverty. Most recently, Utah launched a pilot project to use funds from the Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) program to provide families with financial planning support that helps them navigate the transition from public assistance to other economic opportunities. 

Takeaways for Georgia

Georgia’s welfare system struggles with similar issues—inefficient processes, separate agencies, not enough focus on helping people achieve self-sufficiency.

Georgia lawmakers recently considered House Resolution 884, which proposed creating a task force to review and streamline welfare and workforce systems, but it didn’t pass during the last legislative session. This was a missed opportunity—but it’s one lawmakers can revisit that can be revisited in the upcoming session.

As lawmakers consider reforms for the future, here are a few concrete ideas that would shape a better welfare system and a thriving workforce in Georgia: 

  • Conduct an audit similar to Arkansas’s to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
  • Establish a task force to begin implementing a “One Door” initiative, like those in Louisiana and Utah.
  • Advocate for integrating welfare programs with workforce development initiatives at both the state and federal levels.
  • Prioritize transparency, accountability, and ease of use in redesigning the system.

Image Credit: Canva
Video Credit: Alliance for Opportunity

DC’s Amazon lawsuit reminds us that safety is a luxury for Black Americans

DC’s Amazon lawsuit reminds us that safety is a luxury for Black Americans

Georgia news, in the news, current events, Georgia happenings, GA happenings

DC’s Amazon lawsuit reminds us that safety is a luxury for Black Americans

By Joshua Crawford
Originally published on January 11, 2025, in The Hill

The Washington, D.C. attorney general has sued Amazon, alleging the e-commerce giant intentionally slowed service to two low-income, majority-Black neighborhoods in the district. Beginning in 2022, residents of ZIP codes 20019 and 20020 would receive packages much more slowly than the typical two-day shipping to which Prime customers are accustomed.

Amazon does not deny the delays. Instead, Amazon argues the changes were not based on prejudice or race-based decision-making, but rather a result of increased carjackings, homicides and other violent crimes in those neighborhoods.

Tragically, in some ways, both parties are correct. Black Americans have long bore the brunt of America’s violent crime problem, and things have gotten worse in recent years, especially in cities run by progressives.

From 2010 to 2020, the total share of U.S. violent crime victims who were Black increased by 3.2 percent to 32.7 percent of all crime victims. Over this same period, the share of Black Americans in the total U.S. population decreased from 13 percent to 12 percent.

While America was becoming more violent, it was Black Americans who felt the increase most acutely. Unfortunately, this isn’t new.

Read the full article here.

Joshua Crawford is the Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives at the Georgia Center for Opportunity and the author of “Kids and Community Violence: Costs, Consequences, and Solutions” in the newly edited volume Doing Right by Kids.

DC’s Amazon lawsuit reminds us that safety is a luxury for Black Americans

Substantial policy moves sought for Georgia child care costs

Georgia news, in the news, current events, Georgia happenings, GA happenings

Substantial policy moves sought for Georgia child care costs

(The Center Square) – State Sen. Brian Strickland said he hopes the Legislature will make “substantial policy moves in the coming years” to address child care issues for Georgia families.

Stickland, a Republican, is chairman of the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare that met Monday to hear from various child care leaders, nonprofit associations, and education partners on the different ways that child care can be made more affordable and accessible throughout the state.

“Hopefully, what we are doing and what we have done, has started a very serious conversation about this with our friends up here at the state capital,” Strickland said. “We all know how important this is for our state, along with the families in our state and for our workers in our state.”

Buzz Brockway, vice president of policy for Georgia’s Center for Opportunity, warned that additional funding should come with an overhaul to the current child care subsidies. Without an overhaul, both work and marriage could be disincentivized by an additional investment into Childcare and Parent Services, Brockway said.

“The very purpose of the program is to encourage work,” Brockway said. “Ironically, CAPS represents the largest challenge to solve the safety-net programs in terms of limiting their upward mobility and discouraging marriage.”

DC’s Amazon lawsuit reminds us that safety is a luxury for Black Americans

Georgia unveils its newest private school choice program

Georgia news, in the news, current events, Georgia happenings, GA happenings

Georgia unveils its newest private school choice program

The Georgia Promise Scholarship was passed by the state General Assembly earlier this year. According to pro-school choice organization EdChoice, it joins two other private school choice programs in the state.

Eligible families can use the funds for private school tuition and fees, required textbooks, tutoring services, curriculum, physician/therapist services, transportation services and other approved expenses. Participating students must have attended a public school in the 2024-25 school year or be entering kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year.

Public school students will not be eligible to use the scholarship funding for tutoring.

Participating schools must be located in Georgia and:
* Be accredited.
* Be in operation for at least a year or submit financial documents.
* Comply with federal antidiscrimination policies.
* Test students annually and report assessment data.

According to the Georgia Center for Opportunity, a nonprofit that supports access to education for all, funding for the scholarship program is capped at 1% of public school funding and is expected to serve an estimated 21,000-22,000 students at most.

preload imagepreload image