NEWS & OPINIONS
Promote Purchasing Power—Not the Minimum Wage
How to help working families the most During a focus group session on working class families we recently conducted at the Georgia Center for Opportunity, Jazmine* made an observation more perceptive than most experts. Our focus group consisted of working-class...
Gov’t. check can’t beat work’s dignity | AJC
Jobs provide dignity and purpose to people’s lives and contribute to community flourishing in ways that can’t be measured by monthly employment reports.
Help From Where You Least Expect It
“I don’t know what I’m going to do if I don’t find a better job; I might have to go back [to prison].” Two months out of prison, Ray (name changed for anonymity) was explaining to me that he had reached the end of his rope. He had been struggling to find work that...
Origins of the Georgia Center for Opportunity: Why we choose to focus on work
You’ve probably heard that if you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day—but if you teach him to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime. And while the Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) mission to alleviate poverty by removing barriers to human flourishing is grounded in...
BETTER WORK adds direct-to-business job applications
Working to more quickly connect our communities to work. In efforts to better address the needs of the unemployed in our communities, we have taken an evolving learning approach to how we support those in need. Not only are we looking to learn from those in need, but...
Connecting the Presence of an Honored Father
Kenneth Braswell of Father’s Incorporated was recently honored on OWN’s Spotlight Celebrating Black Fatherhood. It brought back a positive memory of the dad event (The Dad Factor: Presence) hosted by the Georgia Center for Opportunity, where fathers and father’s to be...
Putting Georgia’s employment numbers in perspective
Is there any reason not to cheer? Georgia’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent in May. Here are three reasons why this looks good for Georgia. First, the unemployment rate is declining, giving optimism that the economy is bouncing back from the pandemic....
Still celebrating my father!
A celebration of fathers. Since Father’s Day is upon us, I am sure many of you are thinking about the presence or lack thereof your father in your life. Hopefully some of you are thinking about the father that you are or want to become. No matter where you land, take...
5 Ways to Impress an Employer (Soup to Nuts)
5 Ways to Impress an Employer (Soup to Nuts) Let’s pretend you’re getting ready for an interview. You’re probably wondering what you should wear and whether you should prepare to shake hands or fist bump in the post-COVID world. You may even be practicing eye contact...
Origins of the Georgia Center for Opportunity: Why we choose to focus on healthy families
As an organization whose mission is to alleviate poverty in communities across Georgia, we are sometimes asked why we choose to focus on healthy families. After all, some of the most contentious flash points in our culture today center on the divergent views Americans...
Get Buzz’d Heads to Austin for the Heritage Foundation’s Resource Bank Conference
Get Buzz'd in Austin, Texas at the Heritage Foundation Resource Bank Conference Buzz Brockway and Eric Cochling talk about their experience at the Resource Bank Conference.
New Opportunities Open Up For Kids With Special Needs
Helping Marginalized Students Access Quality Education Mountain Area Christian Academy recently celebrated the passage of the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Expansion bill, also known as SB 47. After Governor Kemp signed SB 47 into law, Mountain Area Christian...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Opinion: Increase choice as public schools can’t meet all kids’ needs
OpEd Written by Corey Burres, VP of Communication Unedited Title: Public Schools Are At the Heart of School Choice As states like Utah and Iowa pass sweeping school choice legislation, it is important to understand no one is trying to defund public schools. The...
First House bill related to juvenile justice reform advances from committee
Kentucky’s juvenile justice system is likely to undergo some major changes before the end of the 2023 legislative session. Josh Crawford, a Louisville resident and director of criminal justice initiatives for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said that portion of...
Who is the most impacted by violent crime? Victims Matter with Josh Crawford
For years, researchers have said that increased exposure to violent video games have had an enormous impact on our children becoming desensitized to violence. It feels like every day—whether it be on our favorite news program or as we mindlessly scroll through social...
Bill to reopen Louisville’s juvenile detention center moves ahead, but some voice concerns
A bill that would reopen Louisville's juvenile detention center amid an influx of crimes committed by young people cleared its first committee hearing Wednesday in Frankfort. House Bill 3 appropriates $8.9 million to renovate the Jefferson County Youth Detention...
Competing proposals emerge to help Kentucky’s struggling juvenile justice centers
Kentucky’s troubled juvenile justice facilities have put a call on lawmakers to act. Democrats and Republicans have put out different approaches to curb troubled youth away from crime. Before the 2023 session started, lawmakers formed a work group to investigate the...
Two Columbus-based organizations offering FREE work-training program
Better Work Columbus and Asbury United Methodist Church are working together for the second year to offer free classes designed to remove the barriers that keep many people in Columbus without a job.
School choice in 2023: 10 states to watch
Millions of American children do not receive a quality education that sets them up for success. A good education leads to opportunity, but unfortunately, it’s out of reach for so many. All Americans, regardless of political leanings, believe their children deserve an...
Proposed bill would increase Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program cap
Proposed legislation would increase the cap on the state’s tax credit scholarship program a year after lawmakers raised it The proposed measure, House Bill 54, would increase the cap from $120 million annually to $200 million per year starting in 2024. The state’s tax...
