9 Benefits of Work for Teens and Young Adults

by David Bass | Jun 14, 2024

In addition to earning money, the benefits of work for teens include positive impacts on mental health, physical health, and relationships.

9 Benefits of Work for Teens and Young Adults

Key Points

Research has shown that there are numerous benefits of work for teens and young adults across all areas of life, including finances, relationships, and physical and mental health.
Labor force participation rates show teens and young adults are working less than previous generations.
Encouraging teens and young adults to work can be a valuable way of helping them lead meaningful lives and become healthy, resilient adults.

As summer break approaches for many teens and young adults, most will be looking forward to leisurely activities like a trip to the beach, camping, or even summer camp. Kids at this developmental age indeed need relaxation and rejuvenation over summer breaks, but it is also a valuable opportunity to reap lifelong benefits.

Parents, guardians, or even mentors may want to encourage their teen to get a summer job—not just to earn a little spending money but because work has many other benefits to the health and resiliency of teens.

It’s true that the brains and bodies of kids need some time to relax and rejuvenate after a long school year—and taking a much-needed break in the summer months can be a good thing. There’s also a lot to be said for getting a summer job that teaches the value of work and offers benefits that reap dividends over the course of their lives.

Work is good for young people

Research shows that seasonal and part-time employment for teenagers and young adults has almost universally positive impacts. The truth is that holding down a summer job is something that previous generations commonly experienced—and enjoyed—but kids today have been comparatively shielded from working until much later in life.

In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the summer labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in July 2023 was only 60.2%—slightly down from the previous year’s rate of 60.4%. By comparison, back in July 1989, the rate peaked at 77.5% before trending downward over the next 20-plus years to settle between 60.0% and 60.6% from 2012 to 2018.

Since then, the rate dropped significantly to 57.3% in 2020 due to the economic dislocation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, though it has since returned to pre-COVID levels at around 60%.

Contrasting by gender, the 2023 gap in summer labor force participation was the smallest on record—at only 0.4%—with only 60.4% of young men working compared to 60.0% for young women. Interestingly—and not surprisingly—the gender gap was its widest at 40.9 percentage points back nearly 75 years ago in July 1950. Also not surprising is that today most summer jobs for teens and young adults are in leisure and hospitality (25%), retail trade (18%), and education and health services (13%).

Clearly, the current generation of teens and young adults is working less than their predecessors. But what’s the impact on their lives?

They not only miss out on the financial benefits of earning money, but also on learning “soft” skills and attitudes that will positively impact them for the rest of their lives, including time management, respect for supervisors, following instructions, being reliable, demonstrating an upbeat attitude, dressing appropriately, accepting constructive criticism, and even using work-appropriate language.

As teens and young adults take on fewer seasonal or part-time jobs, they miss out on the benefits of work.

In July 2023, the summer labor force participation rate for 16- to 24-year-olds was 60.2%. In July 1989, the rate peaked at 77.5%. The drop means more young people are missing out on the benefits of work.

For young people, benefits of work span all areas of a healthy life

Beyond this, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) team has thoroughly reviewed the literature and found that there are nine benefits for work that help teens and young men and women develop a strong work ethic that lays the foundation for success in every area of life:

1. Personal finances: When we think of work, we immediately think of a paycheck. That’s the most obvious benefit. Work enables kids to buy both necessities and luxuries, to pay for education, even to start saving for retirement. Attaching to work early is also important for avoiding the trap of the social safety-net system that can unintentionally keep people mired in poverty.

2. Serving others: Earning money in a free market economy shows the ability to create value by serving others and learning self-reliance.

3. Economic impact: The more people work, the more the economy grows. This creates a more prosperous society and leaves those who work personally better off than those who don’t work. Those who don’t work deny society resources that could have made everyone better off—while simultaneously pulling resources away from other important societal needs.

4. Personal well-being: Work confers dignity and respect. It provides a sense of meaning and purpose in life. In contrast, those who don’t work are, overall, less happy and experience higher levels of personal and familial stress, sadness, despair, hopelessness, apathy, and depression.

5. Mental health: Those who work experience improved mental health outcomes and have higher self-esteem, fewer psychosomatic symptoms, less anxiety, and decreased suicide risk.

6. Alcohol and substance abuse: Those who work generally have reduced drug use and improved treatment outcomes. The impact of substance abuse appears to be greater on those who don’t work.

7. Physical health and lifespan: Those who don’t work generally have poorer physical health, including disrupted sleep patterns, higher risk for cardiovascular disease and respiratory infections, and shorter longevity.

8. Family relationships: Working has a particularly positive impact on males when it comes to family formation. Young men who work are much more likely to marry and have a family.

9. Crime: Working typically has a positive effect on teens and young adults by increasing future wages, building human capital, and reducing criminal behavior and recidivism—especially for economic crimes involving property damage, theft, and drugs.

Taken together, the evidence is strong for teens and young adults to start working on a seasonal or part-time basis. Whether it’s learning to manage a summer job in between camps, family vacation, and other enrichment activities or working during the academic year after school or on the weekends, the benefits of employment go far beyond earning money.

While it may be fashionable for parents to shelter their children from the working world as long as possible to allow them to enjoy a more carefree and leisurely adolescence, the data—and generational wisdom—show that we do kids more harm than good by unduly delaying their exposure to the workforce.

Everything to Know About Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in Georgia

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Jun 3, 2024

Education savings accounts in Georgia empower parents to customize their child's education.

Everything to Know About Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in Georgia

Key Points

Education plays a powerful role in breaking the cycle of poverty and helping children lead healthy, flourishing lives. Education savings accounts in Georgia are a solution to help more kids get the benefits of a quality education.
Georgia’s education savings account program is the Promise Scholarship. Starting in fall 2025, it will give eligible families $6,500 scholarships to access the education option that best meets their child’s needs.
Education savings accounts, or ESAs, in Georgia can have several positive impacts on communities, including better support for public schools, less crime, and greater upward mobility.

Education is an essential building block for a healthy, flourishing life. It has the power to break the cycle of poverty that can persist across generations.

When children from impoverished backgrounds receive a quality education, they’re more likely to escape poverty themselves and provide better opportunities for future generations.

Good education goes hand-in-hand with many other positive outcomes—like better jobs, higher personal income, valuable relationships, better physical health, and a longer life.

We all want these good things for children in our communities. Education savings accounts are one solution that Georgia can use to increase opportunity and prosperity for students who need it most.

What are education savings accounts?

Education savings accounts, also called ESAs, give parents a portion of state education funding that they can use to tailor their child’s education if traditional public school isn’t a good fit.

ESA programs expand education opportunity by giving parents greater flexibility and freedom in education choices. Whether a family prefers homeschooling, private schooling, or other alternatives, ESAs let parents access the best type of education for their child’s unique needs and interests.

The Georgia Promise Scholarship helps students in low-performing public schools access education options for their needs.

Get Started With Georgia’s ESA Program: The Georgia Promise Scholarship

Georgia is getting ready to launch Promise Scholarships in the fall of 2025. If you’re interested in enrolling your child, make sure you’re signed up to hear about next steps.

Get on the List for Updates

How do ESAs work?

To create education savings accounts programs, states must first pass a law. States then take a portion of what they would have spent on the student’s public school education and put it into a state-administered account.

Parents can use these funds for a range of education expenses—tuition, tutoring, homeschooling curriculum, educational therapies, online programs, or even a combination of educational services. States require parents to complete an application process to switch to an ESA.

What do families get from education savings accounts in Georgia?

Flexibility: ESAs let parents customize their kid’s education.
Financial Support: ESAs allow states to expand access to options that families may not be able to afford otherwise.
Empowerment: Parents can take charge of their child’s education journey with confidence.
Diverse Options: Parents can explore various educational paths that suit their child’s needs and interests.

What is Georgia’s ESA program?

Created in 2024, Georgia’s ESA program is the Georgia Promise Scholarship. It provides state-funded scholarship accounts that give eligible families $6,500 per student for each school year.

The program will be available starting in the 2025-2026 school year, and it will be limited to students in the lowest-performing public schools.

Georgia’s Promise Scholarship Explained
Find out what the program is, how it works, and which students will be eligible.

See the Promise Scholarship FAQs

Who do education savings account help in Georgia?

ESAs are for all kinds of students. Whether a child is struggling in school or has special learning needs, ESAs can help. Georgia’s ESA program, the Promise Scholarship, is specifically designed to help families who may not have the resources to access better opportunities.

Students in Underperforming Schools

Thousands of Georgia kids are stuck in public schools that have received a failing grade from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. To help these kids in particular, the Promise Scholarship will be for students in the bottom 25% of Georgia’s public schools. With an ESA, these students can access higher-quality education options that prepare them for successful careers and fulfilling lives.

Low-Income Students

Choosing a different school or educational path has often been a privilege for wealthier families. What about families that struggle to make ends meet?

With an ESA, low-income families can consider schooling options that may be out of reach otherwise. The Georgia Promise Scholarship makes sure these students are helped first. Available scholarships will go to families below 400% of the federal poverty level (around $120,000/year for a family of four). Any leftover funding can then serve students above that threshold.

Students With Special Needs

ESA programs are a lifeline for students who need support beyond what their local public school can provide. ESAs make it possible to access schools that are set up to help students who have unique learning needs and disabilities. ESA funds can also help pay for other essential resources like tutoring, therapies, and learning technologies.

Homeschooling Families

ESAs don’t just cover school tuition. They can pay for curriculum, online programs, and supplies, giving parents the option to fully customize their child’s education. This flexibility means that ESAs can help families who want to homeschool as an alternative to public or private schools.

What kind of impact could ESAs have on communities in Georgia?

Since Georgia’s ESA program, the Georgia Promise Scholarship, is new, it will be a few years before we know its exact impact on our communities. But we can get an idea from other states that have ESAs, including a couple of Georgia’s neighbors.

Better support for public schools: In 2011, Arizona became the first state to adopt ESAs. The state soon found that the program was helping to redirect state and federal dollars back to public schools where it could be used for teacher pay and operational needs.
Better outcomes for low-income students: Created in 2019, Florida’s ESA program is now the largest in the country. A November 2023 study of Florida’s education system looked at the impact of growing school choice. It found students of lower socioeconomic backgrounds—including those who stayed in public schools—experienced some of the greatest benefits.

Better economic opportunity and healthier societies: Tennessee is still working to expand its ESA program, but a study from the Beacon Center of Tennessee found that a statewide program could have incredible social impact. Their model predicted that Tennessee could have more high school graduates, higher overall personal income, less criminal activity and fewer felons, and $2.9 billion in economic benefits.

Do parents want education savings accounts in Georgia?

Overall, Americans are worried about the direction of public K-12 education.

Half of Americans think it’s moving in the wrong direction.
82% of teachers say the state of public K-12 education has worsened in the last five years.
Only 46% of school parents in Georgia think K-12 education is on the right track in the state of Georgia.

It’s not surprising, then, that Georgia parents are open to more school choice policies: 76% of Georgia school parents say they’re in favor of an ESA program.

A majority of school parents in Georgia think it's a good idea to have education savings accounts in Georgia.

What are common concerns about education savings accounts in Georgia?

Concern: ESAs take funding away from public schools.

Georgia communities don’t have to worry about this because state lawmakers are not using public school funding for the Georgia Promise Scholarship. Promise Scholarship funding is also not allowed to exceed 1% of public school funding. This set-up means public school funding is fully protected.

In general, more research is showing that, when states invest in school choice programs like ESAs, public schools benefit financially and academically. They have more per-pupil funding, less budgetary pressure, and better student outcomes.

Concern: ESAs favor wealthy families and don’t help kids who actually need the opportunity.

Quality education is a building block of a healthy, flourishing life, regardless of a family’s financial situation. ESAs are a tool states can use to ensure there’s more equality when it comes to education opportunities.

Even if an ESA program is universal—where every student is eligible—the students who gain the most opportunities are those most in need. Here in Georgia, our ESA program, the Promise Scholarship, limits eligibility to students in low-income households to make sure they get helped first.

Concern: ESAs are just another private school voucher.

Education savings accounts can be used for private school tuition but also for much more! Unlike private school scholarships, ESAs can be used for a wider range of education expenses—including tuition, tutoring, online programs, education therapies, curriculum, and textbooks.

Concern: ESAs don’t help families in rural areas.

Rural areas may not have as many schools to choose from, but thanks to the flexibility of ESAs, this doesn’t have to be a reason for states to avoid ESA programs.

Take Tanya Schlegel’s story, for example. Tanya is a mom of two kids with special needs living in rural Georgia. Despite her best efforts to work with the local public school, it just isn’t equipped to give special needs students the help they need. An ESA would give her the resources to homeschool and access specialized therapies so that her kids can have the type of education that matches their needs.

Georgia ESAs: Quick Facts

Georgia is one of 16 states with an ESA program.
10 states have universal ESA programs, meaning all students are eligible. Georgia is not yet one of them.
Georgia’s ESAs are worth $6,500 per student per school year.
76% of school parents in Georgia support ESAs.

Interested in Georgia’s ESA program?

Go here to sign up for updates as the Georgia Promise Scholarship gets up and running.

Other Schooling Options in Georgia

BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life: Giving Georgians a Path to Find Purpose and Possibility in Work

by David Bass | May 16, 2024

GCO's BETTER WORK program partners with Jobs for Life to empower people to pursue meaningful work that brings purpose, belonging, and upward mobility.

BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life: Giving Georgians a Path to Find Purpose and Possibility in Work

Key Points

GCO’s BETTER WORK program partners with Jobs for Life to offer community-based job-training classes that help people build the skills, mindset, and confidence to pursue long-term, stable employment.
BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life are a powerful pair because both programs believe that every person has an inherent dignity and value. Together, these programs focus on helping people realize their worth, build purpose-filled lives, and find support and community.
The impact of this partnership shines in the success stories of participants like Quendasia and Tiarra, who found a renewed sense of purpose and vocation through the Jobs for Life class.

Quendasia’s life was changed forever when she was seriously injured in a car crash several years ago. The accident left her with a traumatic brain injury that made returning to work a challenge. She spent five years struggling with unemployment before hearing about the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) BETTER WORK program—and its partnership with Jobs for Life.

Like many job-seekers, Quendasia discovered BETTER WORK in a moment of crisis or urgent need. And because GCO prioritizes building a network of community resources and employer partners, we were able to help her find support for her immediate needs.

But part of what makes BETTER WORK unique—and effective—is that we help people move from crisis into developing connections and a fresh mindset to pursue long-term, stable work. This is where BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life (JFL) came alongside Quendasia to help her envision and pursue a professional path that was so much more than just a paycheck.

This gets to the heartbeat of GCO—to remove barriers to opportunity and foster thriving communities in which everyone can achieve their fullest potential. Work is a key piece of the puzzle—not only because it unlocks economic mobility, but also because it empowers people to find fulfillment in a sense of personal and collective purpose, structured routines, and relationships that lead to belonging and support.

Together, BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life empower people to see that they have a valuable place in their communities and can make unique contributions through work.

Back in 2022, we recognized that the focus of our BETTER WORK initiative strongly aligned with the vision and values of Jobs for Life, a network of job-training groups available through churches and nonprofit organizations that break down barriers to work. Originally launched in 1996 in Raleigh, North Carolina, JFL is now available in more than 300 cities nationwide.

This shared vision led to a collaboration with the power to transform the lives of individuals, families, and whole communities.

In Columbus, which is home to one of our BETTER WORK chapters, we partner with Jobs for Life to offer an 11-week course that pairs participants with a one-on-one mentor. JFL’s curriculum has the benefit of incorporating essential skill training and behavioral development into its model. Each class provides two hours of instruction in soft skills, discussions on the importance of work in daily life, and exercises in character development.

Back to Quendasia’s story.

Prior to coming to Jobs for Life, she had a GED and she was planning to go to college. Through JFL, she honed practical and essential work skills—like how to interact with others and show up on time. These details seem small, but they are often the tools people need most to capably and confidently pursue meaningful work and realize their inherent personal value.

“Jobs for Life got my mind back on track for working. I met different people and learned different skills,” Quendasia shared. “Before Jobs for Life, I didn’t feel confident enough to get a job. I didn’t really believe in myself. But now I know I can do it.”

BETTER WORK's Jobs for Life class connects participants to community resources to support their journey toward meaningful work.

BETTER WORK’s Jobs for Life class in Columbus, GA, introduces participants to community resources and champions that offer support on their journeys to pursuing long-term, meaningful work.

The discovery of personal potential and worth is at the heart of BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life. Both programs share the core belief that everyone has an inherent, God-given dignity worthy of recognition and respect. Through their shared focus on relational support, human connections, and community, BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life empower people to see that they have a valuable place in their communities and can make unique contributions through work.

Today, Quendasia works at Piedmont Healthcare—an opportunity she never would have had without the support and networking she found through JFL.

The BETTER WORK partnership with Jobs for Life allows GCO to leverage our existing network of employers, community leaders, and resource providers to make JFL classes even more successful for the local churches and organizations that choose to host and sponsor the training in a BETTER WORK community.

Take one more example. Recently, Tiarra connected with BETTER WORK through our partnership with the Jobs for Life program. She was looking for new opportunities at a job fair after losing her job.

“The class pushed me even further,” Tiarra said. “I wouldn’t have ever found my mentor or the job I’m in right now. I love all the teachers. Every lesson was a blessing,”

Today, Tiarra is at Troy University online school working toward a bachelor’s degree in social work. “I used to live in fear, and now I embrace challenges and try to work through them instead of shying away from them,” she added.

Across the nation, the need for programs like BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life is significant: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of February 2024, nearly 6.5 million Americans were unemployed, 22 million were underemployed, and 80% of workers were disengaged.

These numbers can seem overwhelming and even impossible to change. But that only becomes true when we forget that the biggest differences start close to home.

When it comes to empowering vibrant communities and upward mobility, the most important place to start is at the community level. That’s what BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life are built for. Quendasia and Tiarra’s stories are testimonies to the good that can come when mission-aligned programs like BETTER WORK and Jobs for Life work together to build hope and opportunities in the places where people need them most—in the communities where everyday lives are lived.

Georgia Passes Promise Scholarships and Expands Education Opportunity

by Buzz Brockway | Apr 23, 2024

Georgia's new education choice program, the Georgia Promise Scholarship, expands education opportunities for kids in low-performing public schools

Georgia Passes Promise Scholarships and Expands Education Opportunity

Key Points

Georgia lawmakers and Gov. Kemp have officially passed Senate Bill 233, which creates a new education option called the Georgia Promise Scholarship program.
Promise Scholarships will help students in low-performing public schools. Eligible students can receive $6,500 scholarships to access different education options that match their needs.
The program is a positive first step toward an education system that works for every Georgia kid. To make an even bigger difference, lawmakers should work toward opening up the program to all Georgia students.

On April 23, 2024, Governor Brian Kemp signed SB 233, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, into law. This education savings account program—the first of its kind in Georgia—will give parents access to $6,500 state-funded scholarships that they can use to afford the education option best suited to their child’s needs.

The Promise Scholarship Program empowers parents to give their kids quality education and brighter futures

Promise Scholarships will be state-administered, state-funded accounts that give parents $6,500 per year and per student to use for approved education expenses. The program will be available beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.

Parents can use these scholarships for a variety of education costs, including:

Tuition and fees for private schools, online classes, college courses, and vocational programs
Tutoring services
Curriculum and textbooks
Educational therapies
Technology, including adaptive or assistive technologies for students with special needs
Transportation costs

Because of this flexibility, Promise Scholarships allow parents to consider a wide range of options—from homeschooling to private schools to other unique combinations of education services.

“The best gift we can give our next generation is a quality education that opens the doors for new opportunities.” — Randy Hicks, GCO President & CEO

Promise Scholarship eligibility focuses on low- and middle-income students

SB 233 limits Promise Scholarship access to students enrolled in the bottom 25% of Georgia’s public schools, as ranked by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement.

First priority will also be given to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level—around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after the lower-income students are served.

These parameters—plus the funding cap that SB 233 puts on the program—means that Promise Scholarships will serve an estimated 21,000-22,000 kids out of half a million that are stuck in low-performing public schools.

See all the student eligibility requirements here.

The Georgia Promise Scholarship is an important step for updating our education system

SB 233 is a good step toward giving Georgia families access to high-quality, diverse education options. With more education options, students will have even better opportunities to get an education that’s tailored to their needs and sets them up for success in today’s fast-changing world. But if Georgia is serious about investing in our communities, we must keep working to close the education opportunity gap for all of Georgia’s kids.

By passing SB 233, Georgia is catching up to neighboring states like Alabama, Florida, North Carolina that have already adopted education savings account programs.

While Georgia is starting out with narrow student eligibility, these other states are opting for universal ESA programs, opening access to all students. Georgia will need to be open to this model if we want to give our own students the best possible academic outcomes and opportunities for a flourishing life.

Thank you to Gov. Kemp and the lawmakers who recognized the urgency of the moment and passed Promise Scholarships to strengthen the key building block of education for thousands of kids across the state. It’s a momentous step toward a system where every child has access to quality education and a good life, regardless of income, race, zip code, or other life circumstances.

Learn more about the Georgia Promise Scholarship

The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act (SB 233): Questions and Answers (Georgia Center for Opportunity)

What is the Georgia Promise Scholarship? (Georgia Public Policy Foundation)

The Georgia Promise Scholarship (SB 233): What Private Schools Need to Know (Georgia Center for Opportunity)

Georgia Students Need More Schooling Choices (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Governor’s Signature on School Choice Bill Is Good First Step (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Georgia Governor Signs Bill to Launch ‘Promise Scholarships’ (Washington Examiner)

Safer Kentucky Act: Six Crime Reforms Included and How They Help

by Josh Crawford | Mar 18, 2024

The Safer Kentucky Act focuses on lowering crime and fear in Louisville, as well as other vulnerable neighborhoods across Kentucky.

Safer Kentucky Act: Six Crime Reforms Included and How They Help

Key Points

The Safer Kentucky Act (House Bill 5) is a package of crime-related bills passed by the Kentucky Legislature in 2024. The legislation includes six GCO-recommended solutions for restoring community safety.
The bill lowers crime by addressing gang-related violence, updating carjacking laws, facilitating successful reentry programs, and more.
The Safer Kentucky Act is good news for impoverished communities and at-risk populations, which tend to bear the brunt of increasing violence. These public safety reforms will give communities hope and solutions to break cycles of violence and poverty and have better opportunities close to home.

Kentucky is home to one of the most challenging public safety environments in the country. Even so, the state has made positive changes, thanks to crime reduction policies that have increased police funding and established much-needed programs. Louisville, for example, finished 2023 with a 4% reduction in fatal shootings and an 8% reduction in nonfatal shootings. These were the lowest totals in both categories in four years.

But more needs to be done to ensure residents are free to move about their neighborhoods without fear of personal harm. The urgency has increased, given that homicides in Louisville exploded again in March 2024.

A new law, passed by the Kentucky Legislature in 2024, offers hope for lowering violence and fear in Louisville and across the state. The Safer Kentucky Act (House Bill 5) includes six policy reforms, drawing from GCO’s public safety research, that will restore safety and better opportunities to Kentucky communities.

What is the Safer Kentucky Act?

The Safer Kentucky Act is an omnibus crime bill, which is a type of legislation that combines several proposed policy reforms into a single bill. In the case of the Safer Kentucky Act, all the individual provisions touch on some aspect of public safety.

Proposed reforms cover everything from homelessness to repeat violent offenders. Among these reforms are a handful of changes directly focused on reducing crime and relieving communities of the fear and loss associated with increasing violence.

Higher violent crime rates rob communities of precious lives and lower the quality of life in the most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Six Ways the Safer Kentucky Act Addresses Crime

Establishes strategies to lower gang-related violence

Group Violence Intervention (GVI), also known as focused deterrence, is a gang violence reduction strategy, and when implemented properly, it can have substantial impact.

GVI uses an approach known as “call-ins.” Call-ins bring in groups of active gang members to deliver simultaneous messages of enforcement, resources for gang members to better their lives, and community moral voices expressing the unacceptability of the violence.
Louisville, KY, has operated a GVI program for a few years, but an interpretation of state law prevents probationers and parolees in gangs from being compelled to attend call-ins. Despite GVI strategies existing across the country, Kentucky is the only state with this participation issue. House Bill 5 clarifies state law to allow this kind of program participation.

Updates state law to discourage carjackings

Kentucky has no state law specifically addressing carjacking. When someone commits a carjacking in Kentucky, they face one of two consequences. They may be transferred to federal court and charged with the federal crime of carjacking. Or they could be charged in state court with a combination of assault and robbery.

The absence of a state carjacking law leads to insufficient punishment for too many carjackers. It also makes tracking and data collection around carjacking more difficult.
The data that is available suggests carjackings have risen significantly since 2020.
Passing the Safer Kentucky Act would, for the first time, create a state-level carjacking statute that enables communities to appropriately deal with and discourage carjackings.

Improves parent and guardian involvement in juvenile proceedings

Building on the parental accountability measures in House Bill 3 (passed in 2023), the Safer Kentucky Act contains a provision that would require one parent or guardian to attend proceedings involving their children or child in their custody.

By requiring parents to at least be present at their children’s hearings, the idea is that they may be more involved and invested in the child’s success. While there are few good answers in this area, these parent-focused participatory measures can help make a difference on the margins.

Adds life in prison for repeat violent offenders

KRS 532 is Kentucky’s most narrow violent offender statute. It includes what most people would consider the worst of the worst offenses—murder, manslaughter, serious assaults, rapes, robbery, burglary, and so on.

The Safer Kentucky Act establishes a new “three strikes law” for violations of KRS 532. Conviction of a third offense would result in life imprisonment.

This measure would ensure that the most violent repeat offenders are appropriately punished. Several studies have found that these types of laws reduce crime, so this change will likely help Kentucky lower crime in the future.

Brings witness intimidation laws into the 21st century

House Bill 5 would amend Kentucky’s current statute related to intimidating a participant in the legal process. It expands the statute to include harassing communications (as defined in KRS 525.080), making it easier to prosecute and punish anyone who uses electronic mediums like social media to attempt to intimidate and dissuade witnesses in criminal cases.

Makes sure re-entry works

Our criminal justice system has several purposes, but one of the most important is helping convicts rejoin civil society once they’ve completed their sentences.

Kentucky operates several re-entry programs based on best practices around the country. But do these programs actually reduce re-arrest, re-convictions, and re-incarceration? Right now, we don’t know.

The Safer Kentucky Act would require regular evaluations of re-entry programs—a practice that would ensure effective programs get the support they deserve. It would also reallocate funding away from programs that aren’t reducing recidivism and put it toward new, innovative approaches.

Who would the Safer Kentucky Act help?

Low-Income Families and Communities

The effects of crime disproportionately concentrate in our poorest and most vulnerable communities, keeping them locked in cycles of violence, poverty, and despair. The Safer Kentucky Act is a key step to restoring community safety. When public safety thrives, neighborhoods become homes for the education options, work opportunities, and healthy relationships that lift people out of poverty.

At-Risk Youth and Juvenile Offenders

We know that parental involvement makes a difference in how children’s lives turn out. The Safer Kentucky Act gives juvenile offenders the opportunity to benefit from their parents’ presence as they navigate the criminal justice system and paths for rehabilitation.

Former Inmates

Former prisoners who are re-entering society have the best chance for a fresh start when states invest in reentry programs that have a track record of success. The Safer Kentucky Act will improve the support that ex-offenders receive through the criminal justice system. Ultimately, this empowers them to build stable, meaningful, and independent lives after serving their sentences.

Law Enforcement

The Safer Kentucky Act would give local law enforcement better methods to deal with small populations who tend to be responsible for the majority of crime. The bill also improves the justice system’s ability to help non-violent offenders and ex-offenders get back on a healthy, stable path.

Additional Resources

GCO’s Public Safety Resource Page

As Juvenile Crime Skyrockets to Record Levels, States Seek to Crack Down (Daily Caller)

Getting serious about teen violence in Washington, D.C.: Louisville, Kentucky, provides a solution (The Washington Times)

New crime dashboard will report ‘real-time gun violence’ to expand transparency in Louisville (Wave)

How to Turn Back the Tide of Violent Crime (Washington Examiner)

Murder Is Actually Going Down—Wherever They’re Paying Cops More and Targeting Gangs (Newsweek)

Victims Matter (Josh Crawford on The Blue View Podcast)

Promise Scholarships Cross Major Hurdle

by Corey Burres | Mar 14, 2024

Promise Scholarships would give Georgia students stuck in failing schools the opportunity to access schooling options better suited to their needs.

Promise Scholarships Cross Major Hurdle

Key Points

On March 14, 2024, the Georgia House voted 91-82 to pass Promise Scholarships (Senate Bill 233: The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act). The bill was confirmed in the Senate and signed into law on April 23, 2024.
SB 233 will create a much-needed education option for students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% of public schools.
The Georgia House added parameters to the bill that reduce accessibility and set the bill to expire after 10 years. These issues will need to be addressed moving forward so that every child can have better opportunities to access quality education in Georgia.

On March 14, 2024, the Georgia House voted 91-82 to pass Promise Scholarships (Senate Bill 233: The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act). This bill is an important first step in extending an education lifeline to low- and middle-income kids in under-performing schools. While there is still much more to do as we press toward universal school access, we are thankful to the many House lawmakers who put the needs of kids above politics to advance this measure.

What’s in the Promise Scholarship Bill?

With these Promise Scholarships, students in the lowest performing 25% of public schools will be eligible to have $6,500 a year set aside in an account. These are the funds the state would have spent for their public school education. Under this bill, parents can direct the funds to cover approved educational expenses, including private school tuition, books, uniforms, and even transportation.

SB 233 also gives first priority to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level—around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after lower-income students are served.

To give public schools time to plan and adjust, public school districts will still receive state funding for a period of two years to cover any students leaving to participate in the program.

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.” — Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.”
— Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

Limits to Promise Scholarships

While we are thankful that the bill moved forward in the 2024 legislative session, the version of SB 233 passed by the House is watered down in significant ways:

It restricts eligibility and access: The bill caps the amount of revenue available to fund Promise Scholarships to not exceed 1% of public school funding. Even if parent demand maxes out the program, this amount only covers an estimated 21,000-22,000 kids. That’s 0.012% of Georgia’s public school student population, and only a fraction of the 500,000+ kids that are stuck in the bottom 25% of public schools.

It applies expiration dates: Unless a future legislative body evaluates the program and chooses to extend it, the Georgia Promise Scholarship program will expire in 10 years. In that decade, lawmakers will still have to vote annually to fund the program. These measures add a layer of uncertainty that makes it difficult to secure a future of success and opportunity for our kids.

A view of the Georgia State Capitol Building, a symbol of political and historical significance in Atlanta, Georgia

Curious how your representative voted on SB 233?
Georgia’s General Assembly puts the voting records online. Go to the legislature’s website to see the breakdown of support among state representatives.

See the Promise Scholarship votes

Student success is at the heart of Promise Scholarships

The passage of SB 233 can’t come soon enough. Georgia is now surrounded by states that are aggressively and urgently addressing the needs of the future generations by adopting education savings accounts, or ESAs, that are open to all students. Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina have recently enacted universal programs, while South Carolina is in the process of creating a universal program in the coming years.

ESAs, particularly universal ones, are good policy because kids need quicker solutions for accessing education options that will work best for them. We can’t wait on reforms that will take years or even decades to take hold. As we’ve seen before, increased funding is no guarantee that poor performing public schools will improve, much less improve quickly.

Every semester, our K-12 students have academic milestones they are supposed to hit. And we know that when they don’t achieve these goals, they are more likely to fall further and further behind their peers, putting themselves and their futures at risk.

SB 233 provides immediate help by making Promise Scholarships available beginning with the school year in 2025.

Education is a building block of a flourishing life. Without access to quality education in Georgia, our kids and our communities will continue down a path where success and opportunity are not open to everyone in the state. An increasing number of families are looking for alternatives, and we must work to provide opportunities that meets the needs of all students, not just a few.