All percentages are weighted to represent all parents of children under 18 in Georgia. Use the tabs below each chart to compare by race, county type, or income. The full report with all data tables is linked below.
Parents selected and ranked their top three concerns from a list of fifteen issues. These are the shares who selected each issue among their top three choices. Use the tabs to compare by race and county type.
Weighted proportions. Parents selected their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd most important concerns. Percentages reflect share who included each issue in their top 3. N=987.
Insurance coverage for Georgia children, including Medicaid/PeachCare and private insurance, with coverage loss rates.
41.5% of Georgia children are covered by Medicaid or PeachCare — and 1 in 8 of those families lost coverage at some point in the past year.
Race differences in Medicaid coverage were significant (p<0.001): White children 34.1%, Black children 53.3%. All figures weighted. N=987 overall; coverage loss figures based on Medicaid/PeachCare enrollees only (n=409).
USDA Household Food Security Scale results, food spending changes, and support for free school meals. Use the tabs to compare by race and county type.
USDA Household Food Security Scale. All figures are weighted proportions. N=987.
Diagnoses among children ages 6–17, parent concern about undiagnosed conditions, and barriers to care.
Base: 780 respondents with children ages 6–17. Weighted proportions. Parents could select multiple diagnoses.
Georgia parent support for each recommendation from the Georgia Senate Safe Firearm Study Committee. Showing percentage who strongly support or support each measure.
Percentage supporting (strongly support + support). Georgia Senate Safe Firearm Study Committee recommendations. N=986–987.
Lockdown experience, parent worry, and children's own reported anxiety about school safety. Base: 785 parents with school-enrolled children.
Nearly 1 in 3 Georgia school children experienced a lockdown this school year. More than 1 in 3 parents are extremely or very worried about their child's safety at school.
School safety is deeply connected to the mental health and firearm findings. The same parents who cite gun violence as a top concern are the parents whose children have experienced lockdowns — and whose children are telling them they worry about their own safety on campus.
Six in ten Georgia parents believe schools are less safe than they were ten years ago. This perception is consistent across race, income, and county type.
The Georgia Child Health Poll surveyed 987 Georgia parents with children under 18 from January 27 through March 4, 2025. All reported percentages have survey weights applied so findings can be generalized to all parents of children under 18 in Georgia.
Demographic breakdowns are available in the full data tables, which include analysis by race/ethnicity, county type (rural vs. non-rural), household income, and child's age group. Statistical tests used chi-squared analysis with p<0.05 as the significance threshold.
Biostatistician: Raphiel J. Murden. Conducted by the Emory Center for Child Health Policy, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.
Patrick SW, Murden RJ, et al. Child Health and Wellbeing in Georgia — 2025. Emory Center for Child Health Policy, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Atlanta, GA; 2025. Available at: emoryrsphmain.widen.net