NEWS & OPINIONS
Breakthrough 2019 – Creating Conditions For Change
“The secret is in the soil.” That’s how Georgia Center for Opportunity President and CEO Randy Hicks opened Breakthrough 2019. Randy shared the story of how Moses Coleman discovered Vidalia onions purely by accident in 1931. These onions can only be grown in a...
Breakthrough 2019’s Education Panel – Building Student Networks
The first step in the Success Sequence is to get a good education. On Wednesday, September 11, attendees at Breakthrough 2019 heard from an outstanding panel describing how schooling is key to expanding opportunities for the impoverished in Atlanta and across Georgia....
Recapping an amazing Breakthrough 2019!
On Wednesday, September 11, nearly 200 community leaders, nonprofit practitioners, business people, and concerned citizens gathered at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta for one unifying purpose: To find solutions that restore dignity and hope to the most...
Education designed for everyone and every learning need
Every day we are greeted by options—from the many products available through local grocery stores to the millions of apps available on smartphones. So, why would we expect anything different in education? As Georgia’s schoolchildren head back to class this month, it’s...
Foster families in Georgia need better educational options—here’s how to help them
Gina McCarn will be the first to tell you that being a foster parent is tough. But well worth the effort. The trouble is, not everyone sees and acknowledges the sacrifices that foster families make. Take the world of education, for example. One of Gina’s foster sons,...
The impact of healthcare costs on upward mobility
For high-income individuals and families, a visit to a doctor’s office is a financial non-event. They typically have robust health insurance to cover the out-of-pocket costs, and their co-pays are low and easily affordable. But for poor and even middle-income families...
Some food for thought as kids head back to school
Many Georgia students return to the classroom this month. For most, the last days before school begins are an exciting time to squeeze in that last bit of summer fun and get stocked up on school supplies. But for students in poverty, a new school year often brings...
Government healthcare benefits create another welfare cliff that hurts the poor
Imagine being a worker on government assistance because your job doesn’t quite meet your bills. Then, finally, you get that raise to put you over the top and relieve some stress. The one catch: You lose assistance needed for things like health insurance. Now, you...
Expanding Medicaid is not enough to help middle class families in Georgia
Some in Georgia are pushing for a full expansion of Medicaid. As the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) team has outlined before, this step would do more harm than good for low-income Georgia families. But there’s another narrative unfolding that tends to not get...
The health care crisis is debilitating for those in poverty
The high cost of quality health care is a debilitating expense
for low-income and poverty-stricken families. In order to enable as many Georgians as
possible to achieve the Success Sequence, we must enact meaningful health care
insurance reform now.
GCO releases new reports describing the best path forward for Georgia’s federal healthcare waivers
Today, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) has released two new reports detailing precisely how the Georgia governor and lawmakers should enact federal healthcare waivers that will reform a healthcare system disproportionately impacting the poor. In What Does an...
Join GCO In Sharing Your Inspirational Family Photos
The kids are on summer break and the parents are looking to make the most of the time together. What do you do? Family road trip? Go to the park for a barbecue? Head out to the local ballpark and catch a game? Family Activities Equals Family Values Whatever you do...
MEDIA MENTIONS
Georgia Senate approves special needs scholarship expansion | CENTER SQUARE
A bill that would expand the state's special needs scholarship program was approved Wednesday by the Georgia Senate. The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship program offers scholarships to students with individualized education plans to attend a private school or a...
39 Renowned Policy Groups Urge U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Buckeye’s Case to End Forced Union Exclusive Representation | BUCKEYE INSTITUTE
Thirty-nine renowned public policy organizations have filed amicus briefs with the United States Supreme Court in support of The Buckeye Institute’s case, Thompson v. Marietta Education Association (MEA), which calls for an immediate end to laws that force...
Clock ticks as feds threaten to remove work requirement from Georgia’s partial Medicaid expansion | HENRY HERALD
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could decide in a matter of weeks whether it will remove the work or activity requirement in Georgia's partial Medicaid expansion plan. The CMS said the plan, which was approved by former President Donald...
Clock ticks as feds threaten to remove work requirement from Georgia’s partial Medicaid expansion | CENTER SQUARE
The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) could decide in a matter of weeks whether it will remove the work or activity requirement in Georgia's partial Medicaid expansion plan. The CMS said the plan, which was approved by former President Donald...
Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | CENTER SQUARE
A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers. House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax...
City Of Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County And Impact46 Partner To Fund Lawrenceville Response Center | PATCH LAWRENCEVILLE
The City of Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County partner with Impact46 to provide $525,000 in funding for the Lawrenceville Response Center (LRC). The Lawrenceville City Council unanimously finalized support at a special called meeting on Wednesday, February 10. Gwinnett...
Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | THE CITIZENS
A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers. House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax...
Push to increase foster care adoption tax credits could cost Georgia $4.8M | TIMES-GEORGIAN
A measure that would increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $4.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers. House Bill 114, introduced by Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, would increase the annual tax...
