When:  Thursday, January 26, 2012

Time:  6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Location:  St. Philip AME Church, Family Life Center, Youth Center/Café, 2nd Floor, 1607 Richard Allen Drive Decatur, Georgia 30317

When:  Thursday, February 9, 2012

Time:  9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Location:  Gather at Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Room 307, 18 State Capitol Square, SW, Atlanta

The Child Protective Services division of the Georgia Department of Human Services can now be accessed after hours to report child abuse or neglect. The toll-free number is 1-855-GA CHILD (1-855-422-4453).

The after hours schedule is as follows:

Weekdays: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Weekends, Holidays and Furloughs: 24 hours

From HOPE for Georgia - 1/11/12: On the first day of the 2012 legislative session, Tim Connell, President at the Georgia Student Finance Commission, told the Joint Senate House Economic Development Committee that the cost of attending college is now the biggest reason students drop out.

Many legislators were surprised to hear the bill they passed last year to "save" the HOPE Scholarship was more than a 10% haircut. It will continue shrinking. In 2011, HOPE was a 100% tuition scholarship. This year it dwindled to 87% of tuition minus books and fees. By 2014 it will cover less than 50% of the cost of attendance.

For more information, visit www.hope4ga.com or contact janice@hope4ga.com.

The Georgia General Assembly will not take up legislation to create a health insurance exchange during this year's session, a key committee chairman said Thursday.

Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said the Republican legislative leadership and Gov. Nathan Deal have agreed not to push an insurance exchange bill. She spoke during a panel discussion sponsored by the consumer advocacy group Georgians for a Healthy Future.

That decision comes despite the recommendation of an advisory committee, appointed by Deal, that the state move forward on creating an exchange for small businesses.

An exchange is envisioned as an insurance-buying marketplace that allows individuals or groups to find the best deals on coverage. The advisory committee had stopped short of backing one for individuals in the state.

A spokesman for Deal told Georgia Health News that uncertainty over the 2010 federal health reform law drove the decision to hold off on any exchange.

"With the Supreme Court set to issue a landmark decision on Obamacare this spring, the governor does not want to move forward until the court has ruled," said Brian Robinson in a statement. "Plus, the governor was concerned about mandates concerning exchanges from the Obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services."

Democratic lawmakers on the panel expressed immediate disappointment with the decision not to move forward. [Full article]