With the Legislative Session Complete, Struggling Georgia Parents Will Receive Some—If Not Enough—Support

By GEEARS for The Saporta Report 

If you ask Georgia parents of young children to rate their anxieties these days, most will put finances at the top of their lengthy lists. Specifically, they’re plagued by the high price of child care and its impact on their employment opportunities, their family budgets, and our state’s economy. 

When Georgia’s legislative session ended in the late evening hours of April 4th, our elected officials had passed one measure—House Bill 136, a tax package aimed at addressing child care costs (see more below)—that will give parents some relief and help employers contribute to their workers’ child care costs. 

But another important program— child care scholarships funded by Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS)—received only a modest budgetary bump. This despite the fact that. . . 

  • Georgia’s child care challenges are more dire than ever, causing at least $2.52 billion in annual losses in economic activity and an additional $131.7 million in lost tax revenue. 
  • Neighboring states have stepped up and invested in their child care systems. They include Alabama ($30 million), Kentucky ($86 million), Louisiana ($51 million), and Florida ($69 million). Georgia’s FY26 budget included only $5.4 million.
  • Only an estimated five percent of Georgia children from potentially income-eligible families are served by CAPS. 

This year, GEEARS and our partners advocated intensely for a significant and sustained investment in CAPS so that more Georgia parents and caregivers would be able to work and support their families. We will continue urging our legislators to acknowledge working parents’ critical role in our state’s economy and increase their investment in our kids’ early care and learning. 

Of course, our priorities for families extend far beyond CAPS. Read on for a short list of highlights of the legislation and budget items that will affect Georgia’s youngest children, their families, and their dedicated early childhood educators. 

Highlights from the 2025 legislative session include…

  • A historic and broadly supported tax credit package, a signal of bipartisan recognition that families need financial support to address the growing costs of raising young children and a direct product of the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare. The bill:
    • creates a $250 child tax credit for families with children under 6,
    • increases the amount of Georgia’s Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, and
    • provides tax incentives for employers who directly pay for a portion of employees’ child care costs.
  • Ongoing expansion of home visiting services that will help more new moms and their babies across the state, particularly those in rural areas.
    • The Governor and the General Assembly included $2.9 million to expand a home visiting pilot program to improve birth outcomes, reduce pre-term delivery, and decrease infant and maternal mortality in rural Georgia.
  • A small but meaningful investment in early intervention professionals.

A quick caveat: The Governor has 40 days to sign or veto bills, including the budget, where he can veto specific line items. These highlights will not be official until they are signed into law by the Governor!

But there is still work to do.

While we’re grateful to have secured these wins, we must continue our advocacy efforts at the Capitol next year. Georgia needs:

  • Bold funding for child care 
    • Building on the General Assembly’s work in recent years, it is time for the kind of significant and sustained investment we’ve seen in other states to help address the ever-increasing cost of child care for hard-working Georgia families.
  • Financial relief for families
    • GEEARS and our partners continue to advocate for improved access to Georgia’s income assistance program, called TANF, that supports working parents and relative caregivers raising children outside of the foster care system.
  • Increased paid parental leave 
    • While the last few years have seen a significant increase in paid parental leave—from zero weeks to six—for state employees (including teachers), we believe the General Assembly can go further and implement twelve weeks of paid parental leave for these professionals.
  • Continuous health care coverage for young children
  • Medicaid eligibility reviews, which are now required every year, can lead to children losing coverage for months at a time due to administrative errors that are outside a family’s control. Some states have implemented continuous Medicaid eligibility for young children through their sixth birthday, acknowledging that young children need consistent health care coverage during this critical period of life.

Although progress was made during this year’s legislative session, it’s clear that Georgia’s youngest children and families still face significant challenges. The incremental gains made this year provide a foundation to build upon but must be followed by bold action and increased investment from both public and private entities. GEEARS, along with our partners, remains committed to advocating for policies and programs that ensure every child in Georgia has access to high-quality child care, health care, and the family supports they need to thrive. We thank Georgia’s legislators for the steps they’ve taken this session to support young children and families, and we look forward to continued collaboration.

Learn more by visiting us at www.geears.org. 

Published:  April 14, 2025