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Advocacy eLetter
G-CAPP Policy and
Advocacy News
Diplomas Count
The 2nd annual “Diplomas Count” report has recently been released by Education Week. The study finds that in Georgia only around 56 percent of public high school students graduated after four years with a standard diploma in 2004, well below the national on-time graduation rate for that year of 70 percent. In addition, large disparities are found across racial and ethnic groups in our state, with 59 percent of white students graduating on time, compared to 44 percent of black students and 39 percent of Hispanic students. The report points out that low high school graduation rates are of special concern in today’s economy, when at least some college education is becoming necessary to gain access to decent-paying jobs. .
Federal Youth Coordination Act
Last year, Congress enacted the Federal Youth Coordination Act, which establishes a Council to coordinate federal services for youth. Currently, youth policies and programs are found in almost every federal department, often working with little coordination or collaboration with each other. The Council would bring together those department and agency members along with members from the private and non-profit sectors, and youth themselves, to develop a comprehensive plan to more strategically implement federal youth policy.
Currently, advocates are urging Congress to authorize funding for the Federal Youth Development Council. For more information, visit the Youth Policy Action Center web site.
PeachCare Update
The President and Congress have authorized an additional $114 million dollars in federal funds to make up for the shortfall in Georgia’s current PeachCare budget. The funding will take the program, which provides health insurance for children in low-income working families, through September of this year. However, the enrollment freeze that began this past March is still in place, which means thousands of kids who are eligible for the program are being prevented from enrolling and families may lose coverage due to a late payment. (For more information, see this recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.) Advocates are calling on the Governor to lift the enrollment freeze, and Congress is scheduled to take up renewal legislation for the federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) this week.
A survey recently released by the Healthcare Georgia Foundation found that more than 80 percent of Georgians are in favor of expanding PeachCare, so that more uninsured children can acquire health care coverage. The survey also found that over 73% of Georgians believe that investing in preventive health care for youth is a smart way to invest in our state’s future economy.
G-CAPP Fast Fact
G-CAPP has launched a statewide 15 by 15 goal, to achieve a 15% reduction in the adolescent pregnancy rate for girls ages 15 to 19 in the State of Georgia by year 2015. In our first year of the campaign, we have seen a 3.6% reduction in Georgia’s pregnancy rate - more than triple our goal for this year.
Source: (Comparison of rates from 2004 to 2005). Georgia Division of Public Health's Online Analytical Statistical Information System (OASIS).
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