THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis

THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis

by | Mar 27, 2020

Applications to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have increased by 79 percent in less than a week in Georgia amid the COVID-19 outbreak, state officials said.

The health crisis, which has led to the social distancing requirements and shelter-in-place orders in places around the state, also has caused a spike in unemployment claims and fears over food security…

Representatives for the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO), a solutions-based think tank focused on community building through public policy, said they expect the number of Georgians who depend on government assistance to continue to grow in the coming months.

“The health toll is the most severe, but the economic consequences are also deeply felt,” GCO president and CEO Randy Hicks said.

 

GCO spokesman Corey Burres said long-term reforms need to be set in place to drive faster recovery.

“Obviously the longer our communities face financial hardship, the less money will be available for government interventions,” he said.

Hicks said the most impact could come from community support.

“We believe that the most good will happen through our local communities, where neighbors help neighbors,” he said.

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THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis

THE CENTER SQUARE – Georgia Senate approves plan to expand Special Needs Scholarship program

by | Mar 12, 2020

A bill that could increase the number of scholarships the Georgia Department of Education awards to special needs students is on its way to the House for review.

Senate Bill 386 would expand the eligibility requirements for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship.

The Georgia Senate voted 33-22 on Tuesday in favor of the bill.

“We are excited that the Georgia Senate passed SB 386 and has opened the door of opportunity for students with special needs in our state to get the education they need,” Georgia Center for Opportunity Vice President of Public Policy Buzz Brockway said. “We are hopeful the state House will follow suit and pass this as well.”

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THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis

THE CENTER SQUARE – Higher tax incentives for adoption could result in Georgia revenue loss of more than $12M

by | Feb 18, 2020

Gov. Brian Kemp’s proposal to increase foster care adoption tax credits could result in a state revenue loss of $12.8 million over the next five years, according to fiscal researchers.

Kemp wants the General Assembly to increase the annual tax incentive from $2,000 to $6,000 to promote more adoptions from the state’s foster care system. Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta, has considered drafting a proposal of the bill, according to a fiscal note from the Department of Audits and Accounts….

Buzz Brockway, vice president of public policy for the independent, nonpartisan think tank Georgia Center for Opportunity, said that “a stable, healthy family is a crucial part” of success.

“At the very top of our policy agenda should be protecting the kids in the foster care system, and right alongside that is supporting these foster parents who are called to a mission unlike any other,” he said

 

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THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis

MCDUFFIE PROGRESS – Georgia Education Savings Account debate comes in the midst of tax-credit scholarship court battle

by | Jan 27, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a Montana school choice case that could change how public funds are used to support private religious schools in Georgia, while lawmakers are expected to push for more vouchers during this legislative session….

“Many of the private schools operating in the most impoverished regions of our state have a religious affiliation,” Buzz Brockway, executive vice president of Public Policy at the free-market nonprofit Georgia Center for Opportunity, said. “We should leave the decision with parents as to where they feel comfortable sending their children – to a school that aligns with their goals and values.”

 

Georgia Center for Opportunity advocates say funding is only one solution to Georgia’s school troubles.

“And while we’re working to reform and improve public education, tens of thousands of Georgia students are being left behind,” a statement from GCO said. “What these kids truly need is immediate access to an education that will enable them to step into their gifts, talents and abilities.”

 

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THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis

THE CENTER SQUARE – Georgia Education Savings Account debate comes in the midst of tax-credit scholarship court battle

by | Jan 27, 2020

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in a Montana school choice case that could change how public funds are used to support private religious schools in Georgia, while lawmakers are expected to push for more vouchers during this legislative session….

“Many of the private schools operating in the most impoverished regions of our state have a religious affiliation,” Buzz Brockway, executive vice president of Public Policy at the free-market nonprofit Georgia Center for Opportunity, said. “We should leave the decision with parents as to where they feel comfortable sending their children – to a school that aligns with their goals and values.”

 

Georgia Center for Opportunity advocates say funding is only one solution to Georgia’s school troubles.

“And while we’re working to reform and improve public education, tens of thousands of Georgia students are being left behind,” a statement from GCO said. “What these kids truly need is immediate access to an education that will enable them to step into their gifts, talents and abilities.”

 

Read the full article here

THE CENTER SQUARE – SNAP applications in Georgia jump sharply during COVID-19 crisis

AJC – Parental paid leave makes inroads in Georgia after years of resistance

by | Jan 25, 2020

Three months of paid leave, maid service and a year of free diapers.

 

Those are among the parental perks the Midtown software firm SalesLoft is using to lure top talent through its doors — and keep them there.

SalesLoft is an outlier among companies in Georgia, which has long ranked among the bottom of states requiring paid leave benefits.

But that’s beginning to change amid record-low unemployment as businesses court workers, particularly in highly paid, white-collar fields such as tech and consulting…

“Our birthrates are the lowest ever,” the Pennsylvania Republican said at a Georgia Center for Opportunity event at Georgia Tech earlier this month. Moderate and lower-income workers, he added, “are having the hardest time figuring out how they’re going to raise a family.”

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