How to ease the labor shortage by fixing the social safety net

by Randy Hicks | Mar 15, 2024

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How to ease the labor shortage by fixing the social safety net

The United States is in the enviable position of having a labor force crunch: Too few workers chasing too many jobs. There is no shortage of speculation among economists about solutions to this labor shortfall. But one factor that could help, and is too often ignored, is the ways our nation’s current safety-net system prevents people from entering the labor market.

First, let’s consider the context we’re in. The U.S. unemployment rate has settled below 4 percent for over two years, the longest stretch since the 1960s. Even so, our labor force participation rate continues to lag, caused in part by an aging population, declining birth rates, and aftereffects of the pandemic.

In January 2000, the labor force participation rate was 67.3 percent. Today, it’s 62.8 percent. That might not sound like much on paper, but consider that it means 1.7 million Americans are still missing from the labor force compared to right before the pandemic alone. These are able-bodied, prime-age workers—defined as ages 25 to 54—and they are still on the economic sidelines.

What’s worse, the labor force participation rate is expected to decline even further to around 60.4 percent by 2032, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor. On the flip side, consider that by 2023, 41 million Americans relied on food stamps to make ends meet and nearly 90 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid.

These are the numbers and statistics, but they represent real human beings who are being left behind. One way to bring more individuals back into the labor market is by implementing badly needed reforms to our nation’s social safety net.

Read Randy’s full opinion in The Hill

U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney’s ‘One Door’ bill would allow states to integrate social safety net with workforce development

by David Bass | Feb 29, 2024

U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney’s ‘One Door’ bill would allow states to integrate social safety net with workforce development

PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA—U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, has introduced a bill that would free up the 50 states to implement a “One Door” safety-net reform strategy similar to the very successful model created in Utah. As part of the Alliance for Opportunity, a coalition of groups seeking to drive state-level change in the safety-net system, the Georgia Center for Opportunity is in full support of the bill.

U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, has previously introduced a “One Door” bill in the House, a version of which passed out of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in December.

Despite a historically low unemployment rate across the country, states are still facing a workforce crisis with millions of able-bodied Americans on the economic sidelines. Our nation’s workforce participation rate has not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2023, 41 million Americans relied on food stamps to make ends meet and nearly 90 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid.

Many of these Americans remain stuck in a safety-net system that simply doesn’t work. The One Door to Work Act, introduced by Sen. Romney on Feb. 28, would allow states the flexibility to implement Utah’s consolidation of federal workforce development and social safety-net programs into a single state entity. The end goal is to help work-capable recipients reintegrate more quickly into the workforce, empowering them to achieve the independence, stability, and purpose that are crucial to human well-being.

“Every state should have the flexibility to design an integrated workforce and safety-net model that enables people to succeed,” said Randy Hicks, president and CEO of the Georgia Center for Opportunity. “Every hour a safety-net recipient spends finding their way through the system is an hour they can’t spend working their way into opportunity. The One Door to Work Act allows states to create a system that works for people.”

The dozens of programs that make up the system have different and, at times, competing goals, inconsistent rules, and overlapping groups of recipients. Often, recipients must resubmit the same information multiple times for multiple programs with the aid of multiple caseworkers. This disconnect fosters despair and keeps recipients in a cycle of poverty—as every hour spent navigating the system is an hour not spent pursuing a path out of it.

What’s more, there is often a disconnect between safety-net programs and welfare-to-work initiatives. The end result is that people stay mired in generational poverty rather than receiving a helping hand to live a better life. The One Door to Work Act would free up state governments to explore ways to create a safety net that works for all citizens and doesn’t cause generational poverty.

“There are 8.7 million open jobs in this country, and the workforce participation rate has not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. States need the flexibility in the One Door to Work Act to use our workforce dollars to move our people off the sidelines,” said Greg Sindelar, executive director and chief operating officer of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, which is a member of the Alliance for Opportunity.

“A robust workforce is not only integral to a thriving state economy, but also to its social fabric,” added Daniel Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, also a member of the Alliance. “When a person is unemployed for longer than six months, it is associated with decreased well-being, even measurably affecting mortality. The One Door to Work Act gives workers, employers, and taxpayers the system that they deserve.”

Learn more about the “One Door” policy here.

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Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is independent, non-partisan, and solutions-focused. Our team is dedicated to creating opportunities for a quality education, fulfilling work, and a healthy family life for all Georgians. To achieve our mission, we research ways to help remove barriers to opportunity in each of these pathways, promote our solutions to policymakers and the public, and help effective and innovative social enterprises deliver results in their communities.

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A Better Safety Net in Georgia: Mapping the One Door Policy (House Bill 738) Would Be a Big Step Forward

by David Bass | Feb 22, 2024

The One Door policy connects welfare programs and work support to help people overcome poverty faster.

A Better Safety Net in Georgia: Mapping the One Door Policy (House Bill 738) Would Be a Big Step Forward

Key Points

Legislation pending in the Georgia Legislature, House Bill 738, would create a task force to explore how Georgia could use Utah’s One Door policy to allow more people to find meaningful work and pathways out of poverty through our safety-net system.
Georgia’s economy remains strong, but many individuals who could be employed are still missing from the labor force or are discouraged from working. Barriers in the safety-net system are a big reason this is happening.
Creating a One Door policy task force would be an important first step in reimagining a safety net in Georgia that empowers upward mobility and better opportunities for millions of Georgians.

Georgia’s labor force continues to show its historic resilience, as there are tens of thousands of jobs available across the Peach State. As of December 2023, there were 313,000 job openings, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.

Even so, there are problems. Although the state boasts a robust unemployment rate of 3.4%, our state’s labor force participation rate stands at 61.5% as of December 2022, compared to 62.2% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. These percentages mean a considerable number of Georgians who could work are not doing so.

Part of the reason is due to design flaws in our nation’s social safety-net system. The complexity and requirements of programs like food stamps, housing assistance, and medical benefits turn these programs into poverty traps instead of bridges to work and independence.

There is a policy states can use to give people an easier path out of the safety net and into work. It’s called the One Door policy, and the solution is in the name: This reform transforms how the safety net delivers support by streamlining multiple disconnected programs into a single welfare and workforce program.

The One Door policy solves the overwhelming barriers of the safety-net system

The truth of the matter is that our nation’s welfare system is a fragmented hodgepodge of programs. The dozens of programs that make up the system have different and, at times, competing goals, inconsistent rules, and overlapping groups of recipients. Often, recipients must resubmit the same information multiple times for multiple programs with the aid of multiple caseworkers. This disconnect fosters despair and keeps recipients in a cycle of poverty—as every hour spent navigating the system is an hour not spent pursuing a path out of it.

At the same time, there is often a disconnect between safety-net programs and welfare-to-work initiatives. The end result is that people stay mired in generational poverty rather than receiving a helping hand to live a better life.

How many people are affected in Georgia? For the 2022 calendar year, more than 1.6 million Georgians were enrolled in the food stamps program, while more than 2.4 million were on the Medicaid/CHIP program—two of the largest safety-net programs. That compares to a statewide population of 10.9 million people.

These groups of millions are made up of real individual people who have their own futures and potential. When a safety-net system discourages work and family stability—two of the most important building blocks of a better future—people lose hope. As individual states and as a country, we can better address the suffering of poverty, unemployment, and fragmented families and relationships by creating a simpler, more humane system that rewards work and supports family and community stability.

For individuals on welfare, every hour spent navigating the system is an hour they can’t pursue a path out. The One Door policy would change that.

For individuals on welfare, every hour spent navigating the system is an hour they can’t pursue a path out. The One Door policy would change that.

Proposed legislation (House Bill 738) takes the first step to bring the One Door policy to Georgia

In this environment, the Georgia Center for Opportunity team is on the vanguard of educating about safety-net reform. A key way we are doing so in Georgia is by pushing forward this legislation to create a One Door task force in the state, House Bill 738—Task Force on Workforce and Safety Net Integration.

The task force would create a plan to integrate the safety net with workforce development, in line with the successful One Door approach in Utah. Other states, including West Virginia and Louisiana, are weighing similar proposals. So why not here in Georgia?

People across the political spectrum agree that work is key to lifting people out of poverty. Toward this end, the goal of the task force authorized by the bill is to “study the intersection of workforce development programs and safety net programs.” The Task Force on Workforce and Safety Net Integration, housed within the Technical College System of Georgia, would be composed of nine members appointed from various corners of the government.

Georgia has already taken important steps forward to improve our safety-net and workforce development systems. The Georgia Gateway is a unified enrollment system for food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Childcare and Parent Services program, and the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, but is limited to only those programs. Georgia has also taken steps to consolidate workforce programs under the Technical College System of Georgia.

But to remain a great place to live, work, and raise a family, Georgia must make sure all its citizens are participating in the economic growth we are experiencing. That’s why we need HB 738.

How would Georgia’s One Door policy task force work?

The duties of the task force would include:

Developing best practices for the state agencies and departments involved with administering workforce and safety-net programs.
Exploring ways to merge state agencies or departments to better serve Georgia citizens.
Exploring how to best integrate the delivery of Georgia’s various workforce development programs and safety-net programs.
Creating implementation strategy for an integrated delivery system, including a customer-driven platform, simplified program governance and operations, and safeguards to ensure program integrity.

A final report is due to the governor and the General Assembly no later than December 31, 2025.

What problems does the task force solve?

By forming a task force, Georgia can explore further consolidating service delivery via Georgia Gateway and the Technical College System of Georgia—and how those entities and others can better coordinate service delivery.

The task force will also prepare Georgia in the event that Congress reauthorizes the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which could include the process allowing individual states to pursue a Utah-style One Door consolidation of welfare and work support services.

The great news is that Georgia doesn’t have to wait on Congress to act. Through the task force and other means, the state can explore additional means of consolidation, up to and including consolidating entire departments. Georgia can also provide job training to more of its citizens, fueling additional economic growth.

The exciting part is the end result of these changes—more Georgians who will have the opportunity to escape systemic poverty, achieve self-sufficiency, and climb the economic ladder to create a better, more prosperous future for themselves and their children.

Georgia’s 2024 Legislative Session: An Agenda to Lift Up Vulnerable Communities

by David Bass | Jan 26, 2024

Georgia’s 2024 Legislative Session: An Agenda to Lift Up Vulnerable Communities

Key Points

As Georgia lawmakers convene for the 2024 legislative session, multiple bills are on the table that could break down barriers in poor and disadvantaged communities.
A key issue to track: education opportunity. Lawmakers have a chance to enact several options, including Georgia Promise Scholarships (SB 233), expansion of the Tax Credit Scholarship Program, and public school transfers.
Other bills to know include job licensing reforms to expand work opportunities for people with criminal records (SB 157) and a reform to better connect welfare and work support in Georgia (HB 738)

Georgia lawmakers are back in Atlanta for what could prove to be the most impactful legislative session in years. Georgia’s legislature is considering multiple bills that could break down barriers facing poor and disadvantaged communities.

The timetable is short. The session will end by March 28, so time is of the essence if our elected officials are going to improve the quality of life for the people they serve. Below is a list of a few bills our team is watching and working on to lift up vulnerable and low-income communities across Georgia.

Our hope for the 2024 session: Give more Georgians better pathways out of poverty and into opportunity

“During the 2024 session, we hope to see tremendous progress on expanding school choice through passage of Senate Bill 233, the Promise Scholarship bill,” said GCO’s vice president of public policy, Buzz Brockway. “In addition, we hope to see an increase in the cap on Georgia’s Tax Credit Scholarship program, which would also expand private school options parents have.”

“We also will be working on seeing SB 157 passed into law,” Brockway added. “This bill will create a pathway for people with a criminal record many years in the past to obtain an occupational license, opening up opportunities for many people to earn a living and support their family. Finally, we hope to make progress on reforming how Georgia delivers workforce and safety-net programs, placing people on a pathway toward self-sufficiency.”

Education: Expanding schooling options to help families find the best fit for their kids

SB 233, Promise Scholarships: Would make $6,500 per student available for parents to direct toward the best educational opportunities for their children. The funds would be available for use for private school tuition and public school alternatives, such as homeschooling. The scholarships would only be available to students enrolled in the lower 25% of schools in Georgia, amounting to around 400,000 students. Status: The Georgia Senate passed the bill in 2023 but it fell short in the House by a 85-89 margin. However, it is eligible for reconsideration this session. In his recent State of the State address, Gov. Brian Kemp gave full-throated support to getting Promise Scholarships passed this year. To learn more, view our primer on Promise Scholarships.
SB 147, public school district transfers: Would allow students to transfer to a different public school within their district or a different district. This would provide much needed support for the majority of families who chose to continue sending their students to public schools in Georgia. Status: The Senate tabled this bill in 2023 but it is eligible for consideration this year.
HB 54 and HB 101, Tax Credit Scholarship cap increase: Would raise the cap on the Tax Credit Scholarship from $120 million to $130 million. Through this program, businesses and individuals can donate toward private school scholarships for K-12 students enrolled in public schools. In return, they receive a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit. In 2022, lawmakers raised the cap from $100 million to $120 million, but demand continues to increase, making another jump necessary. Status: The measures weren’t considered in 2023 but they are eligible for reconsideration this year.
HB 318, improve charter school laws: This measure would reestablish the Office of Charter School Compliance under the State Charter Schools Commission. Currently, two entities oversee charter schools in Georgia: The State Charter School Commission oversees state authorized charter schools, while the Georgia Department of Education oversees charters authorized by local boards of education. This creates confusion and differences in application of laws and rules governing charter school laws. HB 318 would bring oversight of all charters under one roof, providing more resources and uniformed application of laws and rules regarding charters. Status: Both chambers passed this bill in 2023 but the Senate amended it and the House did not reconsider the changes. The bill is eligible to be considered this year.

Safety-net reform: Connecting our welfare system to work support

One Door task force bill in Georgia, HB 738: Our nation’s welfare system is a fragmented hodgepodge of programs. The dozens of programs that make up the system have different and, at times, competing goals, inconsistent rules, and overlapping groups of recipients. At the same time, there is often a disconnect between safety-net programs and welfare-to-work initiatives. The end result is that people stay mired in generational poverty rather than receiving a helping hand to live a better life. In this environment, the GCO team is on the vanguard of educating about safety-net reform. A key way we are doing so in Georgia is by pushing forward this legislation to create a One Door task force in the state. The task force would study how to integrate the safety net with workforce development, in line with the successful One Door approach in Utah. Other states, including West Virginia and Louisiana, are weighing similar proposals. So why not here in Georgia? Status: The bill was introduced in the House in 2023 and is now moving through committee this year.

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Occupational licensing and public safety: Increasing personal safety and job opportunities in local communities

Senate Bill 157, appeals process for justice involved individuals: Would create a preclearance process in licensing of individuals with criminal records who make an application to or are investigated by certain licensing boards and commissions. Often, returning citizens from the criminal justice system face huge barriers in finding work, and we know that attachment to work is a significant determinant of an individual not ending up back behind prison walls. Status: This measure was added to the House Rules calendar last year but didn’t receive any attention.
House Bill 212, Niche-Beauty Services Opportunity Act: Would offer barbers and cosmetologists the opportunity to provide services like blow-dry styling, braiding, threading, and the application of cosmetics without requiring licensure by the State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers. Occupational licensing is needed in some industries and job categories due to public health and safety concerns, but the laws on the books today in many cases are an unnecessary roadblock to employment for workers. Status: The House tabled the bill last session but it is eligible for consideration this year.
House Bill 334: Expungement: Would revise Georgia’s requirement that criminal history records be disclosed in certain situations. Known as expungement, this is an important step for individuals who have served their time and need to reintegrate into the workforce. Status: The bill was amended onto Senate Bill 157 but never came to a vote.

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Year in Review: A look back at how opportunity expanded in 2023

by Georgia Center for Opportunity | Dec 21, 2023

new years resolution, 2024, year in review

Year in Review: A look back at how opportunity expanded in 2023

Key Points

Research has shown that safe communities, stable relationships, and meaningful education and work are essential to making poverty escapable.
In 2023, we focused on helping communities develop solutions and tools to improve public safety, jobs, education and student achievement, and family formation.
Through these accomplishments in 2023, more communities are being empowered to help people imagine and pursue better futures for themselves.

It seems like everywhere you go these days, people are struggling. You can see it on street corners, in grocery stores, in news headlines, and—most heartbreaking of all—in the eyes of the people who have lost hope.

What they need is opportunity. And that’s exactly what the mission of the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is built to deliver. As the year draws to a close, let’s take a moment to celebrate the good that has been done to alleviate poverty by removing barriers to opportunity and creating conditions that empower people to flourish and achieve their full potential.

The good news is that research consistently shows that people who experience personal safety, get a good education, find meaningful work, and have healthy, committed relationships only have a 2% chance of falling into poverty. And for those currently living in poverty, these opportunities are the way out to experience freedom and flourishing.

In 2023, GCO celebrated big wins in several key areas that foster community transformation: public safety, jobs, education, and family formation. Here are a few examples of how we’ve helped our neighbors live better and build thriving communities.

Public safety

Thanks to our public safety research, we convened state policymakers and city leaders in Atlanta and Columbus to look at the causes of increasing violence, and provided a proven set of practical solutions for reducing crime—especially in low-income communities. At the national level, our public safety recommendations were well received in Dallas and Louisville, and an opinion piece we co-authored reached 28.7 million people through Newsweek. Soon thereafter, MSN and other media outlets amplified its reach to another 167.1 million Americans.

And given how important it is for people to live in safe communities where they feel comfortable walking around and living their lives, we also created a resource page on our website so that elected officials, law enforcement, and community leaders can easily find the best practices for addressing crime.

Workforce

On the jobs front, our BETTER WORK program continues to help communities build local employment support systems that bring employers, nonprofits, and community partners together to help more Georgians find local jobs. We’ve also joined forces with Lyft to help people get to work and focused on solutions to the benefits cliff challenges that keep many mired in government dependency.

Safety-net reform

This year, GCO remained on the vanguard of educating lawmakers and the public about the need for reforming the safety net. Broadly, we worked to reveal the challenges posed by benefits cliffs, which discourage people from looking for meaningful work and gaining independence. Specifically, we expanded our impact to Utah, Arkansas, and Missouri, in addition to launching a redesigned benefits cliffs website and calculator that adds Utah and West Virginia to the models.

As we educate states and businesses about the benefits cliff problem within the welfare system, we are also developing solutions that equip them to do something about it. This year, we released our first report focused on benefits cliffs solutions, which focused on fixes for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Education

Our efforts to expand educational opportunity have given nearly 84,000 Georgia kids access to the schooling option that best fits their needs. And we led efforts to advance a groundbreaking school choice bill through the state senate. This means there’s strong momentum going into 2024 to expand education options for 500,000 more students stuck in Georgia’s failing schools. We also updated our Education Guide for parents and received the Lilburn Middle School Business Partner Recognition Award for partnering to deliver free relationship education classes for parents and students.

See How The Georgia Center For Opportunity Is Expanding Hope In 2024!

Family

For families, parents continued to graduate from our Strengthening Families Program. And GCO kicked off our Raising Highly Capable Kids (RHCK) program with a vision-casting meeting attended by more than 20 community organizations. By reaching into homes, schools, and faith-based groups, RHCK teaches parents how to raise responsible, caring kids—and turns local communities into nurturing places where healthy families help people escape poverty. An example of how RHCK brings key stakeholders together to foster thriving families is the Lilly Endowment grant that introduced the Parents First Initiative to Lawrenceville.

National and state impact

Finally, GCO had a number of important wins with far-reaching, favorable media coverage on topics we care deeply about. This means that our voice was out there advancing importance conversations about human flourishing. For example, The Wall Street Journal ran our opinion piece calling out pre- and post-COVID crime comparisons for what they really are—an excuse not to blame bad public safety policies. And RealClearPolicy ran an article on our ideas to make safety nets more successful at turning welfare into work support.

Beyond these, GCO’s views were featured in important conversations about Georgia’s position among the leading states for economic freedom and why people remain trapped in poverty when there are so many public assistance programs. And for those concerned about rising crime across the nation, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution carried our must-read piece on public safety.

Wrapping up

Of course, these are just a handful of GCO’s successes in 2023. Yet each win adds to the legacy we are building to help our neighbors enjoy meaningful and productive lives in safe, vibrant communities that value work, education, and family. We’re proud of our successes this year, and we look forward to continuing to advance common-sense policy solutions in 2024 that bring greater peace, dignity, and freedom to individuals and families across Georgia and beyond.

Ask Dr. E: What should national leaders do to rescue America from an economic trainwreck?

by Eric Cochling | Dec 13, 2023

Ask Dr. E: What should national leaders do to rescue America from an economic trainwreck?

OPINION:

Dear Dr. E: The American economy is a mess. Few could argue otherwise, at least with a straight face. Inflation is out of control. Our national debt is unsustainable. Social Security is teetering on bankruptcy. Homeownership is out of the question for millions of young people. Credit card debt is unbelievable. The list could go on and on. Is there any one specific thing you believe our national leaders should do that would rescue America from the economic trainwreck that seems inevitable? — REALISTIC AND WORRIED WORKING MAN FROM ALABAMA

Many of our socioeconomic issues are directly linked to the health of the family structure. Suppose the family structure falls in any civilization. In that case, the number of married couples decreases, economic mobility decreases, median family income decreases, child poverty increases, racial tension increases, and educational tensions increase. The success of an economy is directly related to the stability of the family structure. You cannot have one without the other. Eric Cochling of the Georgia Center for Opportunity says, “To reinvigorate opportunity in America, we must start by restoring the health and vitality of the American family. Nothing less will do.” If the family falls, so does the economy.

Read the full article here