Get ready for an insightful evening on ‘The Rod Show’! Josh Crawford from the Georgia Center for Opportunity shares eye-opening insights about rising homicide rates in progressive-led cities. Don’t miss a moment of thought-provoking conversations!”
Tune in to the latest episode of the Lealand Conway Podcast as we dive deep into a crucial and timely discussion about the rise in crime sweeping across the nation. Joining Leland is none other than Josh Crawford, Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives, a renowned expert in the field with a wealth of experience and insights.
In this episode, Lealand Conway sits down with Josh Crawford to unravel the complex web of challenges contributing to the surge in crime rates. As the Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives, Josh brings unparalleled expertise to the table, shedding light on the factors driving this concerning trend.
Together, they explore the multifaceted nature of the issue, touching on topics like socioeconomic disparities, community engagement, law enforcement strategies, and more. But this episode goes beyond just discussing the problems – it’s all about realistic solutions.
Discover the innovative approaches that communities, policy-makers, and individuals can adopt to foster safer neighborhoods and build resilient societies. Josh Crawford brings his in-depth knowledge to the microphone, outlining pragmatic steps that can make a tangible difference.
If you’re concerned about the safety of your community and want to be part of the solution, this episode is a must-listen. Gain valuable insights from a thought-provoking conversation that challenges preconceptions and paves the way for positive change.
Imagine you’re offered a raise that, if accepted, would actually make your family worse off.
This is the experience of some families in poverty when they hit something called the benefits cliff. This “cliff effect” is triggered when a family’s increase in earned income prompts a disproportionately larger decrease in the benefits they receive through federally funded public assistance programs.
This week’s guest is Kelsey Underwood, vice president of strategy and product for the Georgia Center for Opportunity. She joins the show to discuss how the benefits cliff can disincentivize work, negatively impacting families struggling to escape poverty. She also touches on GCO’s efforts in various states to clear obstacles to upward mobility for impoverished Americans. The discussion centers around the dignity of work that fosters upward mobility and identifies resources available to policymakers and business leaders to help address the issue.
The Council on Criminal Justice has released their mid-year crime report for 2023. It shows two major things: Homicides appear to be declining nationally, but the trends in individual cities are vastly different. In the first six months of 2023, homicides were down 9 percent overall in 30 American cities compared to the first six months of 2022. But while 20 cities had lower homicide rates, 10 cities had more homicides in 2023 than 2022. The variation between cities ranged from homicides being down 59 percent in Raleigh, NC to being up 133 percent in Lincoln, NE.
Why are some cities continuing to see increases in violence while the general trend is downward? The answer is that while many cities have increased funding to police and cracked down on gangs, some continue to cling to liberalism’s worst ideas about crime, punishment, and individual accountability.
Washington, D.C. is one of the cities in the Council report where homicides continue to rise—up 11 percent over the first half of 2022. In recent years, the nation’s capital has defunded the police—twice—and attempted to lower penalties for serious acts of violence, including carjacking, which has led to a dramatic increase in carjackings in recent years.
This summer, I had a tremendous opportunity to intern for Georgia Center for Opportunity. Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is an independent, non-partisan policy research and solution delivery organization. GCO researches and develops solutions that address barriers to social and economic opportunity, advocates solutions to policymakers and the public, helps innovative social enterprises, delivers results on the ground, and manages collective impact initiatives at the community level. Before summer began, I knew I wanted a challenge, and that is exactly what this organization provided me with. This internship gave me the chance to learn from policy experts and political officials on tough issues. This summer, I had a tremendous opportunity to intern for Georgia Center for Opportunity. Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is an independent, non-partisan policy research and solution delivery organization. GCO researches and develops solutions that address barriers to social and economic opportunity, advocates solutions to policymakers and the public, helps innovative social enterprises, delivers results on the ground, and manages collective impact initiatives at the community level. Before summer began, I knew I wanted a challenge, and that is exactly what this organization provided me with. This internship gave me the chance to learn from policy experts and political officials on tough issues..
By Buzz Brockway
The year is only half over, but 2023 has already been a banner year for the expansion of educational opportunity for students in other states across America.
Georgia was so close to being one of them, but we fell short. More on that later.
Seven states have enacted laws that create universal — or near universal — access for all students in 2023: Ohio, Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina and Indiana. That’s on top of West Virginia and Arizona, which did so in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Other states have made strides toward universal access as well, including Ohio as a more recent example.
Each state has its own version of a scholarship or educational savings account that the state funds for children’s needs outside of traditional public school. For example, these types of accounts send a portion of each student’s public school dollars to allow the child to attend a private school of their family’s choice. In some cases, families who choose to homeschool their children can use the funds for educational expenses.
In Indiana, for example, the state’s scholarship program will now be available to any family below 400% of the amount required to qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program. That translates to a salary of around $222,000 a year for a family of four.
Previously, requirements were in place that further limited the program, such as it only being open to families with students previously enrolled in a public school or to children in the foster care system. Under the new law, only an estimated 3.5% of Indiana’s families won’t qualify for this option.
Meanwhile, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster recently signed a bill into law that eventually expands that state’s scholarship program to families at or below 200% of full- and reduced-priced lunch as well. The program is more limited in scope than Indiana’s. It will only be available to 5,000 students the first year, 10,000 the second year and 15,000 students the third year.
South Carolina’s program allows for the establishment of Educational Scholarship Trust Funds. Funds deposited in these accounts can be used not only for expanded school choice, but may also be used for special needs therapies, such as physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. Tutors and transportation may also be included for families caring for special needs students.
Now to Georgia. State lawmakers had a prime opportunity to add our state to this growing list that recognizes the importance of families having educational options. Unfortunately, we fell short.
Senate Bill 233, also known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, would have made $6,500 per student available for parents to direct toward the best educational approaches for their children. The funds would have been eligible for use as private school tuition and public school alternatives, such as homeschooling.
According to the Georgia Department of Education, families who qualified would have had students enrolled into the lower 25% of schools in Georgia. This amounted to roughly 400,000 students.
SB 233 was a strong bill, passing the Senate with unanimous Republican support and going on to the House. Despite receiving no support from Senate Democrats, it’s excellent news that the bill made it so far through legislative proceedings.
The House vote proved to be tougher, with bipartisan representatives voting against it. Rep. Mesha Mainor of Atlanta was the lone Democrat in the House to vote in favor. On its final day of session, SB 233 was only six votes short of the 91 it needed to pass.
The good news is that the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act is eligible for reconsideration during the 2024 legislative session. Lawmakers can’t let another year pass without giving control back to parents.
Public education is a foundational and vital part of the success of American society, but an increasing number of families are looking toward alternatives — and their choices are just as valid. We must work to deliver quality education to all students, which means finding ways to support families who take a different schooling path. While many will access their education through public schools, not all kids are a perfect fit for that system and they cannot be left behind.
Buzz Brockway is executive vice president of public policy at the Georgia Center for Opportunity. He is a former Georgia state representative and is chair of the State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia.
This opinion was originally published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on August 7, 2023.
