Policy Research
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Researchers rally support to improve children's lives

Researchers in the Andrew Young School's Georgia Health Policy Center spent last year identifying critical challenges facing the state's children - and now they're rallying legislators, government officials, school administrators and other policy makers to address the problems and improve kids' lives.

Advancing children's welfare in Georgia requires solid research, the support of the state's leaders and, naturally, money, researchers say.

"We've worked hard to get this information into the hands of legislators, heads of agencies and programs, advocacy groups and other groups that care about children's policy in Georgia," said Jennifer Edwards, director of children's health evaluations for the Georgia Health Policy Center and chief researcher for the center's new Child Policy Initiative. "We need to get the attention of people who make decisions and to let them know we're a resource."

The Andrew Young School last year received a $250,000, two-year grant from The UPS Foundation, the charitable arm of United Parcel Service, to support children's policy research. The school will use the funding to study "kinship" care, dental-health access, child care, children with special health-care needs and school health - five areas that researchers say are the state's most pressing child-welfare problems. For example:

• In homes where children are in the primary care of a relative other than their parents ("kinship" care), research indicates that families face problems with access to health care, financial resources and secure custody status. The Child Policy Initiative has identified a strategy used in 19 states to support grandparents raising grandchildren, and other relatives raising children. Policy experts now are inviting legislators, state officials and others to meet and consider how Georgia might implement a similar policy to meet the needs of up to 28,000 kinship-care families living in poverty, and as many as 37,000 kinship-care families living above poverty but without legal custody, statewide.

• Low-income children often receive inadequate dental care, leading to tooth decay, pain and disruptions in eating, speaking and paying attention in school. The National Governors Association has selected Georgia as one of eight states participating in a workshop this summer to identify and implement solutions. The Andrew Young School's child policy experts are providing data and analysis about Georgia and serving as the state's delegation leaders.

• Accredited day-care facilities provide spaces for only about 7 percent of Georgia's pre-schoolers who need paid child care. And even if quality child care were available, many of the state's 170,000 low-income families with pre-school-age kids wouldn't be able to afford it, policy researchers say. The Child Policy Initiative plans to produce three reports in the coming months that make the case for a greater public and private commitment to child care in Georgia. They include a benchmark report comparing access, quality and public policies in Georgia to neighboring and similarly sized states; an economic impact study of the benefits of child care; and a preliminary evaluation of pilot programs passed by the Georgia General Assembly this year.

• Children with special health-care needs incur enormous costs and use services from many state agencies with little coordination or accountability. Among children with special health care needs, severely emotionally disturbed children face some of the greatest barriers to appropriate care. The Child Policy Initiative is working with several state agencies and child-care providers to describe systematic problems and identify best practices for Georgia.

• Lack of resources has forced many school districts to rely on unlicensed health personnel to help take care of sick children. The Child Policy Initiative recently completed a survey of school superintendents about the impact of increased state funding on their schools' health programs.

The long-term goal is to create a continuing program of research and policy development on behalf of Georgia's children, said Andrew Young School Dean Roy Bahl.

"We feel very good about emphasizing this area of policy research because there are few issues that are more important than the welfare of children at risk," Bahl said. "We are so grateful to UPS for helping us take up this cause."

RELATED READING: Read more on individual Child Policy Initiative briefs on kinship care, dental care, child care, special needs and school health, plus see the results of a survey of school superintendents on improving school health.

Photo above: STANDING UP FOR KIDS: Jennifer Edwards, chief researcher for the Andrew Young School's new Child Policy Initiative, shares a smile with her two sons, Dylan, 5, and Liam, 2. The UPS Foundation recently granted the school $250,000 to support children's policy research.