The first in a series of symposiums focusing on child policy in Georgia will be held on April 21, from 9 to 11:30 a.m., at the Seney-Stovall Chapel on the grounds of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. “Improving Child Well-Being” will bring together university faculty, students and staff as well as practitioners and policymakers from throughout the state.
The symposium is sponsored jointly by the Georgia Child Policy Partnership, a new effort of the Child and Family Policy Initiative at the University of Georgia, and the Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University.
The UGA initiative partners currently include the Institute of Government, the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, the School of Social Work and the College of Education.
Featured speakers will be Richard Rothstein, research associate at the Economic Policy Institute and visiting professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Tafia Butler, policy director for Georgia’s Family Connection Partnership. Rothstein is recognized nationally for his research on how income, health, safety, social class and other gaps affect student achievement. Butler will offer her perspectives on the status of Georgia children and supporting public policy.
The Child Policy Symposium Series is intended to provide a link between child policy research currently under way and best practices in child well-being, according to Karen Baynes, associate director of the Vinson Institute.
“By highlighting child policy research and practice from several dimensions we hope to provide community and state leaders with the information they need to make more informed decisions regarding child well-being and at the same time stimulate future research and program development in areas that are identified,” she says.
Georgia is 40th in the nation in child health and well-being, she says.