You might think that ending generational poverty is simply achieved through more income. A more effective answer — especially in Georgia — is higher quality, affordable childcare. Without good childcare, parents who live in persistent poverty face a decision with no good solution.
“Inadequate childcare means that women will continue to choose between ‘do I care for these kids’ or ‘do I try to find work’ or ‘how much work do I do’ while wrestling with the costs of care for those kids,” said Ife Finch Floyd, Director of Economic Justice for the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI).
GBPI issues data-driven policy solutions, and its goal is for all Georgians to thrive.
Unaffordable childcare across Georgia
In Georgia, 18% of all people under the age of 18 live in poverty. It’s 21.9% for families with multiple children and at least one child is under 5.
Race is another factor: 19% of Black families in Georgia live in poverty, followed by 17.5% of Latinx families, 9.9% of Asian families, and 9.6% of white families.
In a recent analysis of the FY2027 state budget related to spending on early childcare and learning, Floyd found that “quality child care is unaffordable for the typical family in most Georgia counties, but it is a greater expense for Black and Latinx families. Meanwhile, the state economy loses at least $1.75 billion annually due to childcare challenges and the state loses at least $105 million in tax revenue.”
Generational poverty is a critical community issue for ECF. ECF welcomes parishes within the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta and their nonprofit partners to apply for funding, leadership, and resources to lift up people facing generational poverty.
Aside from pre-k supports, Georgia falls short
In Georgia, the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) administers the lottery-funded free pre-kindergarten and other childcare programs. The state’s proposed FY2026 budget includes $563 million, mostly for pre-K.
One idea that GBPI is promoting: expanding Childcare and Parents Services (CAPS) scholarships that lower the cost of childcare for more Georgia families. Another is to prioritize CAPS subsidies for childcare teachers. State lawmakers should budget at least $20 million more for CAPS and pass a constitutional amendment to create a childcare trust fund” with money from the state’s “rainy day” funds.
“These investments could help to remake a system that still operates on racial and gender inequity and fails to adequately support families and the economy,” Floyd wrote in her analysis.
Advocating for policy is critical
Generational poverty is a result of policy decisions such as little or no support for quality childcare, Floyd added. “Poverty is a policy choice.”
The GI Bill is one example of policy that uplifted the American middle class. H.R. 1, “The Big Beautiful Bill,” shifts federal policy and funding away from low-income families.
“These changes are going to dramatically remake the anti-poverty landscape,” Finch predicted. “If we see those major cuts to SNAP [food stamps] and Medicaid, we will see a charitable sector which is already overburdened just flail under the weight of need.”
Churches and nonprofit partners that work to end generational poverty should also advocate for policy changes that support basic needs and prevent instability for low-income families in Georgia.
“Churches and community organizations on the ground probably know this intuitively: everyone should be an advocate,” she said.
