One of the greatest challenges for all families with infants, young, or school-aged children is finding nurturing, safe, developmentally-appropriate and affordable childcare. Yet childcare costs, on average, consume a significant portion of family income. The proportion can be greater for those families earning less. Quality, affordable child care is key in developing cognitive and social-emotional skills.
A SOLID START
Why It Matters
Approximately 633,315 0 to 5 year olds lived in Georgia in 2021.
The physical, emotional, and social development of young children beginning with prenatal care impacts their chances for lifetime success. From birth, both good and bad experiences, can greatly affect the trajectory of a child’s life. Providing children with quality communication; nutrition; cognitive, emotional, and physical supports; as well as minimizing stressors, are all key to developing the brain’s immediate and lifelong responses as a child grows into adulthood.
Where Georgia Stands
73,760
4-year-olds were enrolled in the Georgia Pre-K program during the 2022-2023 school year
64
of Georgia children could not read proficiently, based on the Georgia Milestones results, by the end of third grade in 2022.
9
of every 1,000 Black infants die. That's more than twice the rate of White infants.
Our Priorities
Highlights of Our Work
High-quality, affordable early education and child care
The average cost of center-based child care in Georgia is more than the average cost of in-state college tuition.
Our work in this area:
Ensuring Georgia’s youngest learners enter Kindergarten with school readiness skills
In January 2023, Voices concluded 18 months of research (e.g., focus groups, literature scans, workgroups) which will be used to determine recommendations for the Department of Early Care and Learning to revise its quality standards to improve nutrition, physical activity, and social-emotional learning. Voices will continue to participate in stakeholder engagement initiatives throughout 2023.
Educating policymakers on Childcare and Parent Services expansion
Voices is working to expand funding for the CAPS program. As of September 2018, parent fees were significantly reduced, not to exceed 7% of family income. By increasing Georgia’s match, we can make quality child care affordable for more families.
Access to fresh, locally-grown foods in early childcare centers
In 2017, Voices, Georgia Organics, Quality Care for Children (QCC), the Common Market, and Little Ones Learning Center received funding from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to design and build a “Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE)” program that could be replicated across our state. Together, we are working to increase access to healthy, locally-grown foods and opportunities for good nutrition and physical activity in ECE settings.
Farm to ECE can increase fruit and vegetable consumption, healthy food consumption at home, willingness to try new foods, and support motor skills, life skills, social skills, and self-esteem, and physical activity.
Our work in this area includes:
Policy research to inform systems transformation
Voices leads the effort to expand access to fresh, locally-grown, healthy foods in early child care centers through a broad variety of research initiatives to inform the strategic opportunities in Georgia, including a study of alternative procurement and a WIC Farmers Market pilot project.
Farm to ECE education and advocacy
Voices educates policymakers, ECE center director, teachers, and parents about the benefits of and possible avenues for Farm to ECE. We identify policy opportunities to promote farm to ECE, connect ECE directors with resources, and collaborate with the Department of Early Care and Learning to embed farm to ECE in multiple systems components, including Quality Rated Improvement System (QRIS) and Preschool Development Block Grant Needs Assessment.
Farm to ECE factsheet
Improving health and well-being outcomes
Well-child checkups can identify developmental delays and other conditions that can become life-threatening when left untreated. These routine visits mean children with chronic conditions, such as asthma or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, will receive the supports they need.
6.6% of Georgia's children do not have health insurance.
Our work in this area includes:
HealthyUs Pilot Program
In partnership with Quality Care for Children, Voices is leading a pilot project called “HealthyUs.” The purpose of the pilot is to improve the short- and long-term health, well-being, stability, and child development/educational outcomes for families by connecting low-income, BIPOC caregivers of approximately 10-20 children in non-Early Head Start/Head Start early childhood education settings with a Health Manager for one year to assist with nutritional education, benefit enrollment, and other needs.
Learn More about HealthyUs
Maintaining funding for Georgia’s Pre-K Program
Georgia Pre-K is open to all four-year-olds in the state, regardless of their parental income. Since its inception in 1992, Georgia Pre-K has served more than 2 million students.
Our work in this area includes:
Educating on the importance of quality pre-kindergarten education
Voices secures and maintains commitments from elected officials to Georgia’s Pre-K program. Nearly all elected officials have read to students during our Georgia Pre-K Week event in all counties statewide. By equipping children with school readiness skills for kindergarten, they are more likely to experience academic success and a better lifetime well-being than their peers.
Learn More about Georgia Pre-K Week
Organizing Georgia Pre-K Week
Every year, Voices organizes hundreds of visits to Pre-K centers across the state for elected officials. Over the past 12 years of Georgia Pre-K Week, 172 of the 236 current Georgia House and Senate members have taken part in Georgia Pre-K Week – this equals 73% of all legislators.
Progress for Georgia's Kids
All public schools in Georgia will start screening K-3 students for dyslexia beginning in 2024.
The state Board of Education implemented the 2019 (Senate Bill 48) which requires district to do universal screening for students who show characteristics of dyslexia. Districts can also screen for aphasia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia.
Georgia increased levels for the Georgia Pre-K Program during the 2021 Legislative Session.
In 2021, legislators increased base spending for Georgia’s Pre-K program by 2.5%. It’s the first time in a decade that funds have been added to Georgia’s Pre-K classrooms.
Pregnant women with low incomes now have access to temporary cash assistance.
House Bill 129 (2023) expands the eligibility criteria of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to include pregnant women. The change brings Georgia’s rules in line with federal eligibility. Expanding TANF eligibility to pregnant women improves maternal health for populations with low-income.
Public school teachers will be trained on developmentally-appropriate, evidence-based literacy instruction.
House Bill 538 (2023) requires public school K-3 teachers to be trained on the science of reading, structured literacy, and foundational literacy skills to enable students to develop reading skills required to meet state standards in literacy. Schools will administer reading assessments three times a year and implement tiered reading intervention plans for students who exhibit a significant reading deficiency.
Join Us
We are a nonprofit child policy and advocacy organization advancing laws, policies,
and actions that improve the lives of Georgia's children.