Governor Brian Kemp and Department of Early Care & Learning Commissioner Amy Jacobs recently announced an expansion of Georgia's Child & Parents Services (CAPS) Program that will allow for an additional 10,000 children to have access to quality early education opportunities. The CAPS program supports early education goals by assisting low-income families with the cost of child care while they work, go to school or training, or participate in other work-related activities.
Governor Brian Kemp and Department of Early Care & Learning Commissioner Amy Jacobs recently announced an expansion of Georgia's Child & Parents Services (CAPS) Program that will allow for an additional 10,000 children to have access to quality early education opportunities. The CAPS program supports early education goals by assisting low-income families with the cost of child care while they work, go to school or training, or participate in other work-related activities.
We believe this is a critical step forward toward advancing equity and opportunity for low-income families. Having reliable, high quality child care allows parents to participate more productively in the economy, while setting up their children for future success. CAPS functions as a part of a 2-generation approach toward workforce and talent development which MAC advocates in our ATL Action for Racial Equity Education & Workforce playbook. A study MAC published in 2018 found that child care challenges cost Georgia’s economy approximately $1.75 billion. We applaud state leadership for making this investment in our state’s current and future talent.
In addition to the 10,000 child care openings, this expansion includes increased payments to child care providers, many of which are small businesses, which will help them to increase the quality of educational services they provide.
MAC continues to advocate for further expansion of CAPS and other supportive programs that boost the future of Georgia's talent opportunities. CAPS is an important program to help young students gain access to affordable, high-quality learning experiences. For more of our efforts to expand talent opportunities, visit MAC's policy resource links here.
Additional coverage of this expansion can be found here.
