Georgia earns high marks for career development, but workforce lags, labor commish says

Georgia earns high marks for career development, but workforce lags, labor commish says

by | Jan 24, 2020

Georgia’s workforce development program has been selected as the best in the South Atlantic Region by business publication, Site Selection Magazine.

Gov. Brian Kemp made the announcement a day after Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said workforce numbers are lagging…

Georgia spends about $23 billion in welfare costs annually, according to the Georgia Center for Opportunity. About 20 percent of the state’s population receives one or more benefits.

 

The Georgia Center for Opportunity also found that nearly 250,000 of Georgia’s male population between 25 to 54 years old are no longer counted in the labor force because they have “dropped out.”

 

Lawmakers need to ensure the job opportunities are being presented in the impoverished areas of our state, Corey Burres, spokesperson for the nonprofit, told The Center Square in an earlier interview.

 

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Georgia earns high marks for career development, but workforce lags, labor commish says

Georgia earns high marks for career development, but workforce lags, labor commish says

by | Jan 24, 2020

Georgia’s workforce development program has been selected as the best in the South Atlantic Region by business publication, Site Selection Magazine.

Gov. Brian Kemp made the announcement a day after Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said workforce numbers are lagging…

Georgia spends about $23 billion in welfare costs annually, according to the Georgia Center for Opportunity. About 20 percent of the state’s population receives one or more benefits.

 

The Georgia Center for Opportunity also found that nearly 250,000 of Georgia’s male population between 25 to 54 years old are no longer counted in the labor force because they have “dropped out.”

 

Lawmakers need to ensure the job opportunities are being presented in the impoverished areas of our state, Corey Burres, spokesperson for the nonprofit, told The Center Square in an earlier interview.

 

Read the full article here

Georgia earns high marks for career development, but workforce lags, labor commish says

Why should you care about the ex-offender in your community?

by | Jan 24, 2020

Local coalition works to reduce recidivism rates and replace stigmas with compassion

When it comes to tackling deep-rooted social issues, no single organization can do it alone. The Greater Gwinnett Reentry Alliance (GGRA) is a coalition of service providers in Gwinnett County that works to mobilize community resources — human, financial, and material — all with the purpose of reducing recidivism rates in the county and beyond…

Other partners in GGRA include GRIP, Hearts to Nourish Hope, Navigate Recovery, United Way of Greater Atlanta, Georgia Center for Opportunity, Judy House Ministry, Obria Medical Clinics and others.

 

Read the full article here

Joyce Mayberry Leads In New Role As Vice President of Family Formation

Joyce Mayberry Leads In New Role As Vice President of Family Formation

by | Jan 14, 2020

Joyce Mayberry Leads In New Role As Vice President of Family Formation

Joyce Mayberry will be moving into a new role as the Vice President of Family Formation. In this position, Joyce will continue to develop new ways to strengthen families in the communities we serve through our many partners.

This move in position reinforces three primary pillars of the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) team – opportunity for high-quality education, meaningful work, and healthy families. Family formation is an important foundation for ensuring we can maximize the chances of someone charting a path out of poverty.

Joyce has served the GCO community for the past two decades, becoming a  well-respected leader on family relationship resources. . Organizationally, she brings a powerful passion to better assist and train individuals on healthy relationships. 

 “I am excited about my new role as Vice President of Family Formation,” stated Joyce about this new alignment.” There is power in numbers and together we can help enhance and empower the well-being of family members.” 

Through collaboration with recent new partners, Joyce will work to streamline our family education efforts and continue to champion our invaluable partners.

This change will help GCO successfully set up pathways for those stuck in the cycles of poverty. It is through this renewed vision that we hope to bring new opportunities and break down barriers in 2020.

Georgia earns high marks for career development, but workforce lags, labor commish says

Poll: Half of Georgians don’t want budget cuts

by | Jan 10, 2020

Most Georgians don’t want to see state budget cuts, according to a poll released Thursday, but critics say the language used in the survey was overly suggestive.

The survey conducted by the left-leaning Georgia Budget & Policy Institute found that about half of Georgians are in favor of more state spending, and most do not support budget cuts.

A little more than 1,000 registered Georgia voters from across the state were polled by the nonprofit research organization…

However, Corey Burres, spokesperson for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said the verbiage used in the poll was meant to influence the responses.

 “For instance, in question 2, the poll begins with ‘Most of these budget cuts will affect agencies focused on public safety, health care and education,'” he said. “However, the governor exempted education and health care from those cuts, so it is a bit misleading to lead a poll question with this type of information.”

 

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Georgia earns high marks for career development, but workforce lags, labor commish says

Georgia recoups about as much money in food stamp fraud as it spends

by | Dec 26, 2019

Georgia officials spend about as much investigating claims of food stamp fraud as they recoup for the state.

 

In the 2019 fiscal year, Georgia investigators spent more than $7.2 million to look into claims of fraud. Investigators found that $8.4 million in food stamps were wrongly distributed in 2,985 cases. State officials won’t say how much money they’ve recovered — the federal government releases that information — but in previous years it’s been in the neighborhood of 80%…

Buzz Brockway, the vice president of public policy for the think tank Georgia Center for Opportunity, said while the percentage of fraud is relatively low compared with the number of people who receive the benefits, he believes it’s important for the state to investigate and punish those involved.

 

“You want to try to prevent fraud when you can by putting safeguards in place to make sure the programs are benefiting the people (they were meant to benefit),” said Brockway, a former state House representative.

 

Read the full article here