ICM ALERT: HB 641 Passes the House Judiciary; Contact Your State Senator - "No" on SB 447; Join Us Feb. 25 at ICM Forum on Children's Code Re-write and Immigration Reform

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People of faith are called by that faith
to speak for all children.

February 24, 2012

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PASSES HB 641 - CHILDREN'S CODE REWRITE

("Yes" to Restorative Justice)

On February 23, the House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to pass HB 641 "The Child Protection and Public Safety Act" (Children's Code Rewrite). The bill now goes to the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee determines if the bill will be placed on the calendar for a vote by the full House.

Leading the testimony was JUSTGeorgia representative Kirsten Widner, public policy and advocacy director of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center of Emory University's Law School. Ms. Widner ably ushered the committee through the more significant policy changes that had occurred since their last hearing on this bill in August 2011.

HB 641 also received informed and impassioned support from Judge Peggy Walker (Douglas County Juvenile Court), Judge R. Michael Key (Troup County Juvenile Court); by Giovan Bazan of EmpowerMEnt, who spent several years of his life within the juvenile justice system; and a plea from attorney Linda Pace, representing the state's juvenile public defenders, to restore the amendment (which was removed by the Senate Judiciary Committee) that the circuit public defenders' offices establish juvenile divisions that specialize in juvenile defense. This amendment, along with several others were also passed by the Committee.

Please join us Saturday, February 25, at 9:30 a.m. for an update from Julia Neighbors, Project Director of JUSTGeorgia. (See Forum invitation to the right of this column.)

What can you do right now? Thank the members of the Committee for their support. Then, contact your State Representative and encourage him/her to support the full passage of HB 641 by the House.

House Judiciary Committee Members

Find out who your State Representative and State Senator are by clicking on the link below:

Find Your Legislators

TAKE ACTION NOW

"NO" ON SB 447

Take Action Now: Please contact your state senator now and let him/her know that you do not support SB 447 and that this legislation should not be passed. It is scheduled to be voted on this morning by the full Senate.

SB 447 (Sen. Millar) proposes to add an additional week to the waiting period for unemployment insurance, further delaying benefits to Georgians hardest hit by the economic downturn. It would also reduce the maximum unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to a sliding scale of 12 to 20 weeks, thus cutting Georgia's average duration of benefits (currently 50th among the states) by $192 million.

If you do not know who your state senator is, just use this link: Find Your Legislators.

"NO" TO SB 292 AND SB 312

Although hearings were held this week on SB 292 (Sen. Albers) and SB 312 (Sen. Ligon), no vote was taken on this legislation. These bills target the working poor of our state and promote the unfounded and undeserved reputation of "ne'er-do-wells."

SB 312 (Sen. Ligon) is redundant legislation which calls for a "personal growth" program for recipients of food stamps. According to testimony heard Monday, the commissioner of the department of human services currently has the authority to create such programs. So, what's the rub? No funding from the state to provide them. Instead of creating more legislation, why not just provide the funding?

SB 292 (Sen. Albers) mandates the financial burden of a "suspicionless" drug test on those already in need when they apply for public assistance.

Please contact the following members of the Senate Health and Human Services committee and ask that they not allow these bills to come to a vote.

Unterman, Renee S., Chairman

Carter, Buddy, Vice Chairman

Goggans, Greg, Secretary

Shafer, David, Ex-Officio

Henson, Steve, Member

Paris, Miriam, Member

Tate, Horacena, Member

Wilkinson, John, Member

If a member of the committee represents your district, please let him/her know that you are a constituent.

JOIN ICM IN BUILDING A "BRIDGE TO HARMONY"

"Religious persecution anywhere is a threat to religious freedom everywhere." Whether it is the imprisonment of pastors Sadegh-Khanjani and Yousef Nadarkhani by the Iranian government or one of the 1,322 "religious-bias" hate crimes in the United States, the victims deserve more than our shock and our silence. They deserve our commitment to build relationships of understanding, appreciation and respect across boundaries of religious institutions and spiritual practices.

Become a bridge builder and help build the "Bridge to Harmony" by sharing your stories of encouragement on ICM's facebook page of how you have reached out or how you plan to reach out in peace and friendship to persons not of your own faith tradition.

SPIRITUAL WITNESS FOR CHILDREN

One of the most important things faith communities can do for children is to pray for them.

Every child is a child of God and deserves justice and compassion. Every child deserves our prayers.

ICM encourages every faith community to become a spiritual witness for children. Hold a worship service in your church, synagogue, mosque or temple and invite others to join in praying for the well-being of all children.

ICM Mission and Goals

The Interfaith Children's Movement (ICM) is an interfaith, grassroots, advocacy movement dedicated to improving the well-being of children in Georgia. ICM was formed in 2001 as an intentional association of individuals and communities of faith from all religious traditions.

The Interfaith Children's Movement strives to be a voice for all Georgia children, but especially the poor and marginalized whose voices are often unheard.

ICM works closely with Georgia's policy-oriented child advocacy organizations, such as:

Interfaith Children's Movement (ICM) in conjunction with
the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church Advocacy Committee
will host "The Faith Community's Response to Immigration Reform in Georgia: Hospitality or Hostility?"
and "Restorative Justice for Georgia's Children: A New Children's Code"

When: Saturday, February 25, 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

(Registration begins at 9:00 a.m.)

REGISTER HERE

Presenters include:
Helen Kim Ho, Executive Director,
Asian American Legal Advocacy Center

Julia D. Neighbors, Project Director
JUSTGeorgia

Location:
Cascade United Methodist Church
3144 Cascade Road, SW
Atlanta, Georgia 30311

This is a free event.

IN THE NEWS

Atlanta Ranks Fifth in Child Poverty (WABE 90.1)

Child Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking (HR 1161) WABE interview with Sen. Renee Unterman of the Georgia General Assembly

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