Junior League of Atlanta
Political Affairs Action Alert

2007 Legislative Agenda Update

Support full funding of the state’s Adolescent Health and Youth Development programming, including the Youth Development Coordinators in each of the state’s health districts, within the Division of Public Health.

The proposed budget for fiscal year 2008 for the Department of Human Resources includes a $3.4 million reduction in TANF funding for ‘Adolescent and Adult Health Promotion’ within the Division of Public Health. This significant reduction in funding threatens Adolescent Health and Youth Development (AHYD) programming, specifically the youth development coordinator positions and related community-based services located in each of the state’s 18 health districts.

  • The state’s 18 youth development coordinatorsact as the outreach and coordination point for the statewide youth development system. Working in partnership with families, schools, public agencies, community organizations, and the faith community, they organize local resources, create networks of support for youth and establish coordinated strategies for the preventionof a wide range of risk-taking behaviors such as violence, substance abuse, poor school performance, and sexual activity among our most vulnerable youth. 
  • Georgia has worked hard to develop a comprehensive youth development system and our hard work has paid off with a steady decline in the teen pregnancy rate over the past 10 years. Without the youth development coordinators and the local collaborative relationships and community innovations that they facilitate, our progress could be reversed.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your state legislators and ask them to support full funding of Adolescent Health and Youth Development programming, including the youth development coordinators in each of the state’s health districts, during upcoming budget hearings for the Department of Human Resources . Contact information for your legislators can be found here: http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/FindLegislator.htm.

 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF ATLANTA AND OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS

This email message has been sent to Junior League of Atlanta members subscribed to this topic: Political Affairs Action Alerts. To manage your email subscriptions, please visit the "MyJLA" website at http://www.jlatlanta.org/members and click the "Communications" button. Use the "Manage Email Subscriptions" function to adjust your email topic preferences. You may also contact League Headquarters at 678-916-3100 for assistance with your email subscriptions.

The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc.
3154 Northside Pkwy NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30327

(c) The Junior League of Atlanta - 2006