Author Archives: GEEARS

As we look back on 2025, we celebrate the wins that help advance our mission to ensure that Georgia’s youngest children thrive. At the same time, we acknowledge the challenges that show us there is still much work to be done. We spent this year convening, rallying, and working hand-in-hand with partners in the GEEARS-led […]

Every year, GEEARS publishes the Early Childhood Checkup, an assessment of Georgia’s support for its youngest children and their families. With a quick scan of cute baby faces shaded green, red, or yellow, Georgians can see if certain indicators have shown improvement, declined, or remained static.   While we’re pleased by the green babyface that indicates […]

By Erica Stephens and Jessica Woltjen  I’m in college. It’s a simple statement that evokes images of football Saturdays and all-nighters for finals, pennants and parties, fun and freedom.  But nearly one in five (3.1 million) undergraduate students in the United States are also parents, and for them, post-secondary education looks different. In GEEARS’ latest […]

GEEARS leads a movement—fueled by research and advocacy—to make our state the best place to raise a very young child. Yet in 2025, federal policy changes are weakening some supports for Georgia’s families, just when their needs are greater than ever.   That means it’s time for all of us to join this movement. One way […]

The passage of the reconciliation package known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” means that many Georgians—particularly those who rely on social safety nets like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid—could face hardship in the coming years.  To prepare for these challenges, an understanding of the contents of the bill is essential.   […]

In 2018, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students and the Metro Atlanta Chamber conducted a study to better understand the prevalence, nature, and impact of child care challenges. The results revealed that such challenges had a devastating impact on families’ ability to participate in the workforce and their economic well-being. This hardship for […]

By the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students The budget reconciliation bill, which recently passed the U.S. House, would completely restructure the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), transferring costs to the state and likely resulting in significant cuts to food assistance for families. The House’s proposal also […]

In 2025, Georgians need more help than ever accessing high-quality child care and other services for their children, ages birth through five. After all, the pandemic-era relief funds that sustained child care programs and made them more affordable for families expired in September. And in our most recent state legislative session, only $5.4 million in […]

If you ask Georgia parents of young children to rate their anxieties these days, most will put finances at the top of their lengthy lists. Specifically, they’re plagued by the high price of child care and its impact on their employment opportunities, their family budgets, and our state’s economy.  When Georgia’s legislative session ended in […]

GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students is pleased to partner with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce on a new initiative that promotes family-friendly practices in workplaces and honors the Georgia employers who embrace them. The Best Place for Working Parents® Georgia is a designation achieved through an easy online self-assessment. Employers who make […]

“There are so many opportunities to lighten the load on young families, but I’m asking you to prioritize investing in TANF and consider enacting a state tax credit to help families make ends meet. I dream of a community where parents can be fully present with their families, not split in two as many of […]

By Jessica Woltjen, Senior Policy Manager for Early Education, GEEARS The eighth annual Strolling Thunder is happening on February 6th at the Georgia capitol! At this powerful day of advocacy for family-friendly policies, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students convenes families from all over Georgia, helps them hone their messages, then provides them […]

As we prepare for Georgia’s 2025 Legislative Session, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students is working on the policy agenda we’ll use in our advocacy. A trend is clear: Life these days is extremely expensive, and families of all income levels are struggling to afford even basic necessities. For the parents of young […]

By GEEARS On November 22nd, GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students hosted our annual luncheon. It was a dazzling day in which 200 fellow supporters of early childhood gathered at Zoo Atlanta (with an excellent view of the elephants!) to celebrate our organization’s work on behalf of Georgia families and educators. We honored […]

On Thursday, November 21st, GEEARS will host our annual luncheon and our headliner is super exciting: Former Falcons quarterback and children’s advocate, Matt Ryan. Here are three reasons you should snag your ticket today!   Beyond all these enticements, purchasing a ticket or table supports GEEARS’ work to ensure that every child in Georgia has the […]

Everyone goes to the voting booth with their own list of priorities. In our polling, we at GEEARS: Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students have found that an overwhelming number of Georgia voters care deeply about early childhood issues and choose their candidates with those issues in mind.  Voters may wonder if and how […]

By GEEARS Have you ever heard someone say, “Why take your toddler on vacation when they won’t remember it?”    Given the cost of a lot of adventures, it’s a fair question. But we have a great answer, which also applies to more accessible outings like a sports game, a birthday party, or our favorite, […]

Last year, GEEARS launched the Annual Early Childhood Checkup, a quick, digestible reference to help policymakers, community leaders, and others measure statewide progress on key early childhood indicators. The Checkup considers three broad categories that touch upon a young child’s life: Early Learning, Health, and Family Supports. And since no little ones exist outside of […]

The Georgia Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Child Care has been staffed! The bipartisan septet of legislators chaired by Senator Brian Strickland includes several parents of young children and will spend the rest of 2024 delving into our state’s challenging child care landscape.  But wait a minute, GEEARS, we can hear you thinking. […]

Summer child care can be daunting What’s the most challenging part of being a working parent or caregiver? Many will tell you—child care! Finding high-quality, accessible care, snagging a spot in that program, and paying for it—parents have told GEEARS that such tasks can pervade their parenting and their careers. Sometimes child care even changes […]