The vision of Central Outreach and Advocacy Center is to be passionate advocates and invested partners for those experiencing homelessness.
At the OAC, this passionate advocacy means being a voice for our guests, whether that’s in the services our staff and volunteers provide every day, or a voice speaking on our guests’ behalf on a broader level, such as to state legislators or government agencies.
With the re-creation of the Advocacy Coordinator position this year, the advocacy of the OAC is taking on a variety of new forms, shaped completely by what our staff and volunteers are seeing daily in their interactions with guests.
Legislative Policy Advocacy
Amidst the more than 1600 active bills this legislative session, we have identified two main areas of focus that we will be working in support of: medicaid expansion and removal of criminal justice barriers for our guests.
- Medicaid expansion. We believe that all of our guests should have access to health insurance. Medicaid expansion would ensure that all of our guests are eligible and able to receive coverage. There was some movement in this area in 2023 with the passage of SB 106 creating the Pathways program. This program allows access to medicaid for all individuals aged 19-64 who earn up to 100% of the federal poverty line. However, difficulties with the enrollment process and an 80 hour per month qualified activity requirement (i.e. school, work, community service, etc.) have kept many people from coverage. Since its implementation in July 2023, it’s estimated that only around 2000 of the nearly 100,000 eligible Georgians have received coverage through this program.
We had hoped that a bill enabling medicaid expansion in some form would be introduced this year, however that is unlikely to happen at this point in the legislative session. Instead, House Bill 1339 passed through the House and is assigned to be heard by the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. This bill, among other things, would create a Comprehensive Health Coverage Commission to study opportunities to close Georgia’s insurance coverage gap in the future, such as through medicaid expansion.
- Removal of criminal justice barriers. Unfortunately a number of our guests have had some sort of interaction with the criminal justice system, whether that’s an arrest, a first offender sentence, or a criminal conviction. This sort of history can be detrimental for our guests, even years later, when trying to find housing and employment.
A number of advances in this realm have been made in the past few years, but more are needed to ensure that our guests aren’t negatively impacted by criminal history information that is old or should never have been made public to begin with. Even just a jail booking photo for a crime that was later dismissed can taint a potential landlord or employer’s mind if it shows up during a simple online name search.
There are a number of exciting bills that are actively moving forward this year:
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House Bill 909 – makes first offender law more thorough ensuring that court records are sealed completely at the time of sentencing so private background check agencies can’t find the records years later
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The first offender law allows someone who is charged with their first criminal offense (or first felony) to complete a sentence without the charge ever becoming a conviction if they’re successful in completing the sentence
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98 percent of people who are sentenced as first offenders complete their sentences successfully and are able to honestly say they’ve never been convicted of a crime
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Status: Passed unanimously through the House on 2/13/24 and is on to the Senate
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HB 926 – “Second Chance Workforce Bill” – allows someone who completed a criminal sentence over 1 year ago to apply for a certificate of good standing from Superior Court that can then be used for purposes of employment, housing, and occupational licensing.
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Status: Passed through the House on 2/29/24; now assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee
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HB 930 – keeps arrest booking photos private until someone is actually convicted of the crime linked to the arrest
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Status: heard in Public Safety and Homeland Security committee on 2/9/24 and tabled for further discussions and amendments; unlikely to move forward at this point unless added to another bill
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Senate Bill 157 – eases the occupational licensing process for people with criminal histories and creates more opportunities for criminal convictions to be expunged/cleared from records (combined with former HB 334)
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Status: Passed unanimously through the Senate and the House Judiciary (non-civil) Committee in 2023 but didn’t make it to the floor of the House in time; it is now being heard again in 2024
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Advocacy to Departments and Agencies
There are also a number of roadblocks to the regular services provided by the OAC that our volunteers and staff are encountering daily, such as the limited identity documentation accepted by Department of Drivers Services (DDS) to get an identification card, or the long wait times to make appointments at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Because of these issues, a key focus of our advocacy work right now is building connections with the various agencies we send guests to regularly, especially the DDS and SSA. These relationships can help streamline and simplify the process when applying for guests’ documents. The same goes for building connections with the City of Atlanta to address on the ground issues that our guests are facing, such as minimal access to public restrooms in the downtown area. To support these efforts, we are reviving the advocacy committee, a group of individuals passionate about supporting the work of the OAC.
These are just a few of the projects our Advocacy Coordinator will be working on as we broaden the scope of our advocacy this year at the OAC. The beauty of this advocacy work is in its flexibility to address any issues our staff or guests face as they arise. If you have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions, feel free to reach out to our Advocacy Coordinator, Sarah Zimbardi, at [email protected].