GBPI Calls for Enacting Senate Study Committee Recommendations on New Funding for Child Care and Tax Credits

GEORGIA - GBPI Calls for Enacting Senate Study Committee Recommendations on New Funding for Child Care and Tax Credits to Support Families with Small Children

Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care have released recommendations to support families with children and to make child care more affordable. The recommendations included several GBPI priorities including implementing a Georgia Child Tax Credit (CTC), enhancing the state's existing Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC), and studying the concept of a child care trust fund. If implemented, these policies, as well as others to support providers and early childhood education teachers, will allow more parents to work and bolster our growing economy. Right now, many Georgia parents with young children cannot work due to the cost of infant care, which is more than the typical family can afford in 142 Georgia counties, with families of color the most affected by the high cost.

Tax credits for families have been found to help ameliorate this challenge, by helping parents and caregivers afford the growing cost of living. In 2021, the enhanced federal child tax credit contributed to the largest reduction in child poverty researchers have ever seen in the data.

"We commend the leadership of Lieutenant Governor Jones and Chairman Strickland in proposing the creation of a Georgia Child Tax Credit and an expansion of the existing Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit," said Danny Kanso, Senior Fiscal Analyst at GBPI. "Enacting and making these credits fully refundable could offer vital support to the families of over two million children across every community in our state-helping their families afford necessities and creating an important state-level tool to reduce poverty, improve economic mobility, and better position children across our state for success into their futures."

A child care trust fund is a responsible way to sustainably support our child care system using existing resources Georgia has on hand. A substantial, one-time investment from the state's $11 billion undesignated surplus account could yield tens of millions in recurring funding for child care for years to come.

"As Georgia's leaders consider the best use for undesignated surplus funds, the state has the opportunity to create a child care trust fund that would provide a dedicated source of financial resources to improve access to affordable child care for families across our state," says Ife Finch Floyd Director of Economic Justice at GBPI. "Using their trust fund, New Mexico's leaders have been able to make historic investments in their child care system. They have lowered the cost for families by expanding access to child care subsidies. Our state can replicate this success with a dedicated child care trust fund model that fits Georgia, while making a generational investment in families."

On the whole, the recommendations of Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and the Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care are positive for Georgians, as child care access remains a critical pillar for Georgia's racial equity, economic security, and state economy. GBPI stands ready to continue to be a resource to state lawmakers and officials to help ensure enactment of these important recommendations.

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Staci Fox

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