GEEARS commends the 2024 Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare’s recommendations to address challenges facing Georgia’s families and child care providers.

*Denotes a policy supported by the Committee’s recommendations.

Serve more children through Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Program

CAPS provides scholarships to help some working families with low incomes afford child care. Georgia is currently serving around 51,000 children through CAPS—a sharp decline of nearly 30% from the 2023 peak of 72,000, when federal pandemic relief funding temporarily expanded access. 

To best address Georgia’s child care challenges, the state should restore access to the number of children served in 2023. As noted in a review conducted by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, increasing CAPS enrollment would have positive, immediate effects on the state’s economy, including supporting parents’ participation in the workforce. At the same time, state leaders should maintain increased reimbursement rates to ensure child care providers can participate in CAPS.

Additional reading:

• CAPS One Pager

Create a dedicated capital improvement grant program for child care facilities

High-quality early learning environments benefit children, families, and Georgia’s economy. Yet many providers—often small businesses—cannot afford the costs of expanding or upgrading their facilities. Establishing a dedicated state funding program for child care infrastructure would help providers build, renovate, and modernize spaces to better serve families across Georgia

.

Additional reading:

• Child Care Capital Grant Program One Pager

Add the child care workforce as a priority group for CAPS*

The enduring struggle to recruit and retain early childhood educators has reached a crisis level. Comprehensive and sustained investment in early educator compensation is needed to support this critical workforce. As a start, the state can utilize existing mechanisms to bolster educators’ economic security. One option: Prioritize children of income-eligible early educators for CAPS scholarships.

Additional reading:

• Child Care Workforce Priority Group One Pager

Explore the creation of dedicated funding streams* for infant-toddler care

This would provide a stable, ongoing source of funding for early care and education, particularly for infants and toddlers, who are more costly to serve. Alongside general state funding, Georgia should create a child care trust fund or special revenue account similar to those established in New Mexico, Montana, and Louisiana.

Simplify enrollment in Georgia Medicaid’s Pathways to Coverage Program for parents of young children and early childhood educators

The health of young children depends on the health of those around them. Recent updates to Georgia Pathways make it easier for parents and early educators to access health coverage. State leaders should prioritize informing Georgians about these changes and automate enrollment in Pathways for parents of young children and early childhood educators.

Protect access to early childhood immunizations

Vaccines protect young children from nearly eliminated childhood diseases, like measles and polio. Families of young children should have timely, affordable access to vaccines and accurate, evidence-based information about them. Georgia’s policymakers must uphold existing childhood immunization laws to protect the health and safety of our youngest Georgians and ensure that early care and learning settings remain open and safe.

Streamline enrollment and reduce the administrative burden for young children enrolled in Medicaid

The first five years of life are a time of rapid physical and cognitive development. Regular pediatric visits and early identification of developmental delays are essential to supporting children’s long-term health and well-being. Georgia’s leaders must take measures such as simplifying Medicaid applications and renewal processes to ensure that young children and their caregivers can maintain continuous health coverage without unnecessary administrative barriers.

Additional reading:

• Brief: Medicaid & PeachCare’s Role in the Health of Georgia’s Pregnant Women and Young Children
  

Ensure uninterrupted access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by covering the state’s share of administrative costs

More than 650,000 children in Georgia, including 201,000 under age six, rely on SNAP to access nutritious food. As a result of recent federal changes, states are now required to increase their share of SNAP administrative costs from 50% to 75% to maintain full federal support and avoid financial penalties.

To comply with this new mandate and safeguard the integrity of SNAP, Georgia must allocate an additional $50 million in state funding for SNAP administrative operations. Without this investment, the state risks a reduction in federal SNAP funding and disruptions for Georgia families, ultimately leaving children hungry.

Prioritize families with young children experiencing housing insecurity

Families with young children are more likely to experience homelessness and are the fastest-growing segment of the population facing housing insecurity. Policymakers can promote safe, stable, and secure housing for young children and their families by. . .

• Considering the needs of young children and their families in housing-related legislation and funding.
• Enhancing tenant protections, especially for families with young children who are most likely to experience eviction.
• Prioritizing children experiencing homelessness within related services, such as Medicaid and SNAP.

Help families with young children afford diapers and other basic needs through strategies such as eliminating the state sales tax on diapers or enhancing Georgia’s young child tax credit

Raising a young child is both challenging and increasingly expensive, stretching families’ time, energy, and budgets. One in two families struggle to afford diapers a basic necessity that keeps babies healthy. Furthermore, young children cannot attend child care programs without diapers, putting parents’ employment at risk.

Additional reading:

• Eliminating the Georgia Sales Tax on Diapers One Pager

Invest in TANF income support for family

TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) can reduce financial stress and help lift children out of poverty by helping families meet their basic needs. Georgia can strengthen TANF by increasing monthly eligibility limits, raising the monthly benefit amount, and updating both the lifetime limit and the asset limit from $1,000 to $5,000.

Currently, families must earn less than minimum wage to qualify, even while meeting work requirements—an unsustainable standard.