2008 Legislative Agenda

Health

Protect and enhance access to health care for all of Georgia’s youth. Public and private insurance coverage and youth-friendly, preventative health care services should be accessible, available and affordable in order to ensure a healthy future for Georgia’s children and youth.

• Support full funding of the state’s Adolescent Health and Youth Development programming within the Division of Public Health, to ensure that the program may continue to provide preventative services to over 63,000 youth statewide.
  



• Protect PeachCare for Kids, the state’s health insurance program for children in low income, working families who would otherwise be uninsured. Georgia currently has the 12th highest percentage of uninsured children in the nation, and efforts must be made to avoid reducing enrollment or health care benefits for the over 274,000 children served by PeachCare.



• Oppose legislation that would restrict adolescent access to preventative health care services, including bills that would require minors to be accompanied by a parent in order to receive referral services or contraceptives from any state-funded public health department or agency. A majority of teens involve their parents in their health care decisions, but research demonstrates that mandating parental involvement would cause many teens to avoid seeking necessary health care services while having little impact on their sexual activity.

Education

Support House Bill 901, the Parent Protection Act, which provides Georgians up to 24 hours of unpaid, job-protected leave per year to attend school conferences or to take a child to medical appointments, such as checkups or immunizations.  Research demonstrates that young people with parents who are actively engaged in their education are more likely to avoid risky behaviors. 

Safety

Support Senate Resolution 445 establishing a joint study committee to examine the commercial sexual exploitation of minors in Georgia.  Also, support the appropriation request of $560,000 to improve services for the child victims of commercial sexual exploitation through the establishment of a regional assessment center, to be used instead of detention facilities, where victims can undergo a thorough assessment of their needs before being referred to a longer-term placement for treatment.  Children who are commercially sexually exploited often become victims of crime and are at greater risk for drug and alcohol abuse, depression, unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

 

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If you have any questions or need more information on G-CAPP's legislative and policy issues, please contact Helen Robinson, Policy Director at 404.475.6056 or helen@gcapp.org