State Legislative & Regulatory Issues
Transitioning & Vulnerable Youth
- Passage and implementation of the Child Protection and Public Safety Act (Children’s Code Rewrite)
- Effective child abuse reporting/intervention systems
- Policies that help children stay in school and complete their Pre-K-12 education
Child Health
- Best child-related practices in the redesign of Medicaid
- Streamlining the enrollment processes for Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids
- Increasing all children’s access to healthcare, including:
- Benefits to children under the federal Affordable Care Act
- School nurses/health clinics
- Returning child-only health insurance policies to GA
- Fighting childhood obesity
- Improved access to pediatric dental/oral health care
- Reduced cost and administrative burdens to healthcare providers
- Twelve-month eligibility for children on Medicaid
Early Childhood (Birth-5 Years)
- Expanding and improving GA’s Pre-K program and childcare services
- Effective home visiting initiatives
- Adequate funding for children’s services, including:
- TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) resources for childcare subsidies
- Newborn and young child health
- Developmental screenings
We also support issues championed by our advocacy partners, including:
- Ending child sexual exploitation • Ending shackling of incarcerated children
- Increasing oversight of psychotropic medications for children
- Flexible parental paid time off
- $1 increase in GA’s Tobacco Tax to deter teen smoking
- Strategic supports for unemployed families
Federal Legislative & Regulatory Issues
- Federal appointment of an administrator for the US Dept. of Juvenile Justice
- Reauthorization of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
- Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind) with adequate early learning and wrap around provisions
- Adequate federal funding for pediatric residency programs in GA
- Sustained funding for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
- Reauthorization of the Farm Bill, including:
- Appropriate funding for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
- Nutrition standards for school lunches
- Summer feeding program
