GCO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on ensuring access to quality education, fulfilling work, and healthy family lives through research, policy analysis, and community initiatives. We advance solutions that increase opportunity and give Ģ����Ƶ families a durable path out of poverty. We are also a founding member of the Alliance for Opportunity, a multi-state coalition focused on improving state-administered public assistance and workforce programs to help Americans achieve lasting opportunity and stability.

The Stronger Workforce for America Act aligns with our work and includes an invaluable option for state flexibility, the Make America Skilled Again Grants. These grants would allow 10 states to implement the model, which would empower them to integrate their safety net and workforce systems.

Utah has had this authority for nearly 30 years, after being grandfathered into the strategy. This has enabled Utah to provide its citizens with both support to meet their immediate needs and a clearer path into the workforce and toward self-sufficiency.

The results of Utah’s One Door policy are impressive. For example, the state has outpaced the national labor force participation (LFP) rate, or the number of working-age people employed or looking for a job, by an average of 5.3%. As of late 2025, Utah’s LFP rate was approximately 67.6%, one of the highest in the nation.

In contrast, Ģ����Ƶ’s LFP rate is 60.6%. Put another way, nearly 40% of Ģ����Ƶns, many of them prime-age men, who can work are choosing not to.

Eric Cochling, GCO’s Chief Program Officer and General Counsel, emphasized the detrimental impact of these statistics and the critical importance of work for a flourishing life:

“A good job offers more than just a paycheck. It provides purpose and stability and is one of the most durable ways to empower people to break the cycle of poverty.”

He also stressed the need for reform: “If we truly want to expand opportunity in Ģ����Ƶ and across the country, individual workforce and safety net programs must start functioning as a true system—one that’s designed to support human dignity and flourishing. The Stronger Workforce for America Act is a much-needed step in the right direction.”

Ģ����Ƶ policymakers are paying attention to the success of Utah’s integrated welfare and workforce system and are seeking opportunities like the Make America Skilled Again Grants to implement similar reforms that benefit both Ģ����Ƶns and the state economy.

As Buzz Brockway, GCO’s Vice President of Public Policy, said:

“The ability to link workforce and safety net systems is key to boosting Ģ����Ƶ’s current trajectory as a leader in economic opportunity. The Make America Skilled Again Grants included in the Stronger Workforce for America Act would give Ģ����Ƶ’s leaders a powerful way to strengthen families, expand the workforce, and set the state on a path to more rapid growth.”

Randy Hicks, GCO’s President and CEO, added:

“Every state deserves the ability to design an integrated system that enables people to thrive. Right now, every wasted hour navigating disconnected programs is an hour that could have been spent building a better future. This bill ensures that states can rethink the status quo and create pathways to opportunity for every citizen.”

Through the changes it proposes, the is poised to make meaningful welfare and workforce reforms possible in Ģ����Ƶ, and GCO strongly urges its enactment.

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Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity (GCO) is independent, non-partisan, and solutions-focused. Our team is dedicated to creating durable paths out of poverty for families in Ģ����Ƶ and beyond. To achieve our mission, we research ways to help remove barriers to opportunity and promote our solutions to policymakers and the public so that public policy and civil society can effectively and innovatively strengthen family stability, economic mobility, and child opportunity in the communities where lives are lived. 

Send media inquiries to:

Rebecca Primis
Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity
RebeccaP@foropportunity.org 

The post GCO Praises Federal Leaders for Empowering States to Strengthen Pathways to Work through the Stronger Workforce for America Act appeared first on For Opportunity.

The Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity (GCO) is honored to welcome Travis Thorne as the Vice President of Family. Travis will lead GCO’s Family Initiative and shape the future vision of its flagship program, Raising Highly Capable Kids (RHCK), which is an in-person, 10-week program designed to equip parents and caregivers with practical tools, honest conversations, and confidence to raise healthy, responsible, and caring kids.

Travis brings more than 20 years of experience in leadership, relationship management, and strategic problem-solving. Alongside his corporate career, he has spent many years serving in ministry, leading family and men’s small groups focused on strengthening households through practical guidance around money, marriage, and legacy. A Ģ����Ƶ native who grew up in Jonesboro, Travis combines professional expertise with a deep personal commitment to families across the state.

Travis was drawn to GCO because of its holistic approach to poverty and opportunity. “At GCO, we understand that poverty, especially generational poverty, is about more than income,” Travis shared. “It’s often about fractured relationships and a loss of hope. Strong families are where a sense of purpose, belonging, and connection begins.” That belief closely aligns with GCO’s mission to advance solutions that expand opportunity and help Ģ����Ƶ families build durable paths out of poverty.

GCO selected Travis to lead the Family Initiative because of his unique ability to bridge strategy and relationships. His experience building trusted partnerships in high-performance environments, combined with years of hands-on ministry and family engagement, positions him to lead family-centered work that is both relational and scalable.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Travis to our team to lead our work in strengthening families,” said Eric Cochling, GCO’s Chief Program Officer and General Counsel. “Travis brings a unique mix of professional experience, drive, and a passion for this work that I am confident will take our family-focused initiatives to the next level and allow us to have a much deeper impact in the communities we serve.”

In his role, Travis will focus on empowering parents as the primary leaders in their children’s lives and strengthening parent-child relationships to drive generational change. This includes enhancing and expanding RHCK. Unlike many parenting programs that focus only on parents, RHCK brings families together in cohorts that build social relationships, trust, and connection, especially in communities connected to Title I schools, which serve high numbers of low-income households.

Looking ahead, Travis envisions RHCK growing through strong partnerships with faith-based organizations, schools, and community leaders. “We listen, we learn, and we build alongside families,” he said. His vision is to see RHCK become a trusted, community-anchored model that meets families where they are and creates a lasting impact across generations.

With Travis’s leadership, GCO is excited to expand the reach and success of its Family Initiative.

Hear from Travis on the vision behind GCO’s Family Initiative:

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Even without the election-year backdrop, state lawmakers will feel pressure from their constituents to do something about rising household costs. Beyond the cost of groceries and lingering inflation, nothing has quite captured the cost-of-living spotlight like the skyrocketing price of housing.

Home ownership, once a staple of the American Dream, is out of reach for many, but especially the poor and younger generations. The first-time homebuyer is now 40, a striking shift from the 1980s and 1990s, when Americans usually bought their first home in their late 20s or early 30s.

Owning a home is the key to moving up the economic ladder and building wealth, but it also plays an important role in helping people build families and communities. When Americans no longer see homeownership as part of their future, they delay starting families and putting down roots.

Many state and local governments recognize the magnitude of this problem — and, thankfully, have a great deal of control over housing policy through zoning, permitting and land-use rules. State leaders can look to Montana as an example; it recently passed that are set to expand supply and reduce prices.

Eric Cochling is chief program officer and general counsel at the Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity.

The post Affordability Tops the List of State Priorities for 2026 appeared first on For Opportunity.

Key Points

• The Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity and Connect to Work GA have entered into a valuable partnership that will link job seekers with rewarding jobs in the Atlanta area.
• The Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity’s BETTER WORK program will prepare clients for work, and Connect to Work GA will then introduce them to employers.��
• This collaboration will help lift job seekers above the poverty line by providing opportunities for successful careers and upward mobility.

The Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity (GCO) entered into a dynamic partnership with in October 2025. Together, the organizations will link participants in with rewarding jobs in the Atlanta area.��

Eric Cochling, GCO’s Chief Program Officer and General Counsel, shared that “GCO is thrilled to partner with Connect to Work GA because it gives our BETTER WORK clients access to the powerful business network of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the expertise of the Connect to Work team.”

Work is a gateway to a better future, and this collaboration will create a clearer path out of poverty and toward opportunity for many job seekers across Ģ����Ƶ.

Connecting Ģ����Ƶns to work and upward mobility

GCO’s BETTER WORK program joins forces with employers and local organizations in Gwinnett County and in the city of Columbus. Through these strong partnerships, GCO connects people with training and support services that can help them find meaningful work.

Connect to Work GA was launched by the in February 2025, with support from the . The Foundation focuses on increasing access to career pathways for Ģ����Ƶns—and particularly for young people—so they can grow and thrive.��

In the spirit of the Foundation’s mission, the Chamber strives to advance economic growth around Atlanta, and Connect to Work GA contributes to that goal by bridging the gap between pre-qualified job candidates and employers who want to build their teams.

In the new relationship between GCO and Connect to Work GA, GCO’s BETTER WORK program will prepare clients for work by providing them with resume support, interview coaching, and job readiness training. Connect to Work GA will then link those individuals with employers by matching their skills with staffing needs.��

GCO will be a preferred provider of job candidates from Gwinnett County, giving GCO’s BETTER WORK clients a promising opportunity to find rewarding jobs with Metro Atlanta Chamber member companies.

Collaborating to build hope and vibrant communities through work

GCO and Connect to Work GA share the goal of making sure that every Ģ����Ƶn has the chance to experience the sense of dignity, purpose, and potential that comes from a meaningful job and upward mobility. They also aim to help communities across the state benefit from more successful businesses and vibrant local economies.

Together, the organizations will remove barriers to work and open doors to opportunity. In doing so, they will inspire hope and turn poverty into flourishing for many more Ģ����Ƶns, their families, and their communities.

The post Creating Links That Change Lives: Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity Partners with Connect to Work GA appeared first on For Opportunity.

Because growing vibrant, resilient communities isn’t ever a solo endeavor, ReCAST coordinators connected with local organizations that could meet the needs of underserved residents where it mattered most—in Lawrenceville’s homes and neighborhoods. 

ReCAST engages three dynamic partners to meet its goals. Impact46 provides essential housing services to people experiencing financial hardship. View Point Health offers mental and behavioral health assistance. And the Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity (GCO) helps chronically unemployed or underemployed people prepare for and find rewarding work.

Eric Cochling, GCO’s Chief Program Officer and General Counsel, noted:

“We chose to participate in ReCAST because of the comprehensive approach to addressing community needs envisioned by the initiative. The focus on collaboration among local groups and on helping families develop community relationships reflects GCO’s method of supporting people in need.”

Lawrenceville recently produced a mini-documentary highlighting the third year of ReCAST’s accomplishments. It shows what’s possible when community members unite to open doors to a brighter future for local residents.

Connecting Lawrenceville job seekers with meaningful work

Employment plays a key role in healing communities after stress and trauma. In Gwinnett County, where Lawrenceville is located, GCO’s BETTER WORK program furthers ReCAST’s goals by bringing together local employers, nonprofits, and mentors to help people find fulfilling jobs close to home.

Carolina Pachon, GCO’s BETTER WORK Program Manager in Gwinnett County, explained that the program changes lives by giving people “a sense of hope, stability, and a way forward.”

As part of the BETTER WORK initiative, GCO offers a class called Jobs for Life. The class teaches valuable work skills, but it’s much more than a job training or placement course. It helps participants form the supportive community relationships that can point them in a new direction in life.

During the class, Jobs for Life students learn that meaningful work brings more than just a paycheck. It provides a sense of dignity and purpose that’s essential for human flourishing. A rewarding job also gives workers the confidence and courage to rise out of poverty and build a better future. This resiliency then spreads, revitalizing and strengthening workers’ families and communities as well.

GCO’s programs are particularly impactful in Lawrenceville, where many residents struggle with barriers to opportunity. The city’s poverty rate is 17.2%, well above Gwinnett County’s average rate of 10.5%. The higher poverty rate also correlates with data showing that about 19% of prime-age (25-54) adults in Lawrenceville aren’t currently working.

Sparking change in a young man’s life

Josiah, a young Lawrenceville resident, found Jobs for Life at a point when he most needed his local community to listen and offer support. He was having a hard time finding a sense of purpose in his life.

Carolina described Josiah as shy at first, but during the class, she saw a big transformation in his mindset. Josiah’s self-esteem soared as facilitators and fellow students created a caring community around him. At the end of the program, he gave an inspiring graduation speech emphasizing the significance of the personal connections he’d made. “I’ve come to believe that the purpose of life is to build meaningful relationships with people,” he shared.

Josiah now works in a restaurant and has a passion for cooking. He’s looking for ways to combine this enthusiasm with his desire to serve others. “I’m super excited,” he said.

Josiah offered this valuable advice to others who are struggling: “Let go of uncertainty. If you think you want to do something, do it.”

Making Lawrenceville a true hometown

Communities grow stronger when people invest in the well-being of their neighbors. ReCAST enables Lawrenceville residents to do just that through vital local initiatives.

Support for neighbors who need a hand empowers people like Josiah to take meaningful steps forward, to rise out of poverty, and to help the whole community thrive. The interconnectedness that ReCAST has set in motion makes Lawrenceville a true hometown—a place to belong—for the individuals and families who live there.

The post Recasting Lawrenceville as a Resilient, Connected Community appeared first on For Opportunity.

These numbers suggest trends at a high level, but they don’t reflect the biggest poverty-related issue, both for the nation and for Ģ����Ƶ: the concentration of poverty in specific neighborhoods. Instead of affecting only certain individuals and families, poverty is enveloping entire communities. This is leading to significant geographic and societal separations among Ģ����Ƶns—not only financially, but also in terms of opportunities for education, work, and family formation.

Randy Hicks, the Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity’s President and CEO, also shared that:

“The national numbers don’t tell us much about poverty from the perspective of the person or community experiencing it. They fail to convey that poverty is much more than a material issue for those who are struggling. Research has shown that people living in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty lack the essential local network of supportive relationships that’s crucial for helping them thrive and rise out of poverty.”

At a glance: facts on concentrated poverty in Ģ����Ƶ

• Ģ����Ƶ’s poverty rate: 13.5%—2.9% above the national average, ranking 38th.��
• Poverty exceeds the national rate in 133 of Ģ����Ƶ’s 159 counties.��
• Atlanta’s poverty rate: 18.1% overall; 27.2% among children.
• Lawrenceville’s poverty rate: 17.2%, compared with Gwinnett County’s 10.5%.
• Southern and central Ģ����Ƶ show especially high concentrations of poverty.

Breaking down Ģ����Ƶ’s poverty landscape

Ģ����Ƶ’s average poverty rate was 13.5% in 2023, per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or 2.9% higher than the national rate. 

This difference may seem slight, but it puts Ģ����Ƶ 38th in the country when it comes to poverty. Poverty rates in 133 of Ģ����Ƶ’s 159 counties also exceed the national rate. 

Within counties, concentrations of poverty exist in particular cities. For example, Atlanta, the county seat of Fulton County, has a poverty rate of 18.1%. Poverty is even more concentrated among the city’s children, with 27.2% living in poverty. These numbers are significantly higher than the county’s average poverty rate of 12.6%.

Lawrenceville, in Gwinnett County, also struggles with concentrated poverty at a rate of 17.2%. The county’s average poverty rate is just 10.5%. 

In many cases, poverty rates are higher than the state average in central and southern Ģ����Ƶ, suggesting concentrations of poverty in communities in those regions.

Impacts of increasing concentrations of poverty

In neighborhoods with higher poverty levels, residents experience many negative impacts, including limited access to quality education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. They also struggle with increased crime and inadequate housing and living conditions. These factors significantly hinder social and economic mobility and contribute to cycles of poverty that are difficult to escape.

Eric Cochling, the Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity’s Chief Program Officer and General Counsel, noted:

“Poverty has an especially big impact at the local level. It’s a crisis of human well-being. These neighborhoods are often missing the vital community connections and social institutions that help people navigate life’s challenges. As social isolation and disengagement from work increase, people suffer from the loss of purpose and belonging that work and relationships provide.”

Ģ����Ƶ the Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity

The Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity is a nonprofit organization that works to remove barriers to ensure that every person—no matter their race, past mistakes, or the circumstances of their birth—has access to safe communities, a quality education, fulfilling work, and a healthy family life. Learn more at foropportunity.org.

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Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity (GCO) is independent, non-partisan, and solutions-focused. Our team is dedicated to creating opportunities for a quality education, fulfilling work, and a healthy family life for all Ģ����Ƶns. To achieve our mission, we research ways to help remove barriers to opportunity in each of these pathways, promote our solutions to policymakers and the public, and help effective and innovative social enterprises deliver results in their communities.

Send media inquiries to:

Rebecca Primis
Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity
rebeccap@foropportunity.org

The post National Poverty Rate Fails to Capture the Problem of Poverty Concentration in Ģ����Ƶ and Beyond appeared first on For Opportunity.

A Community Responds to Need (or Good News You’ll Never See in Mainstream Media)

By Eric Cochling

Just seven months in and it’s fair to say that 2020 has been one of the most disastrous years in modern American history. The very fabric of our country seems to be unravelling before our eyes. As a year that can’t avoid being remembered in infamy, 2020 will forever be known for its pandemic, mass unemployment, police shootings, riots, and autonomous zones. For many of us born after the tumultuous 1960s, this is the first time we’ve seen our country in so much real, existential trouble.��

Despite all the terrible things that have happened, and despite a media establishment that seems all in on an “if it bleeds, it leads” approach, you don’t have to look too far to find reasons to be hopeful. Granted, you do have to look in different places to find the good news—you’re unlikely to see it in news broadcasts or social media where anger and outrage are the fuel.

Instead, you have to read a local paper or sign up for newsletters and blogs (like this one) from ministries and nonprofits that you know. If you do, what you will find is that many Americans—and you’re likely one—are quietly at work responding to community needs and finding ways to bring people together.��

In fact, many more of us are responding in this way than participating in riots or joining Twitter mobs. But because it’s the good, right, and (dare I say) expected response, it’s relegated to the “human interest” section of the paper, the end of the news broadcast, and the unpromoted backwaters of social media where virtually no one goes. At GCO, we are privileged to be working with community partners in just one of those efforts to respond to need.��

Leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, church, nonprofit, and community leaders in my hometown of Lawrenceville were already discussing ways we could partner to become better neighbors to those in poorer sections of the city. Unaware of what was coming, we prayed for guidance and started making initial plans for how best to work together. When COVID-19 struck and our state began shutting down, our group coalesced around a plan to serve those families living in extended stay hotels or rental properties in Lawrenceville who were on the verge of eviction. These were the families on the financial bubble pre-COVID and would be the first to be harmed as businesses shuttered. With funding from private philanthropy and the City of Lawrenceville, the Lawrenceville Response Center () was born.��

Through the partner organizations working through the LRC (organized and led by ), our groups have provided case management ( and ), housing stability (the ), food security (the ), mentoring and coaching ( at ), and job search assistance (GCO’s program). To date, the LRC has helped more than 200 families avoid eviction, have sufficient nutrition, and get on the path back to a stable income.

��

It’s the biggest good news story in my community, but almost no one knows about it. It’s a story of people (with diversity of race, gender, income, political views, and faith) coming together to help alleviate and prevent suffering. As we enter into our third month of working together, we celebrate the successes we’ve seen:

• The mom and daughter who now have a place of their own after spending many nights living in their car.
• The couple who were unemployed and living under a bridge who are now in decent housing and working.
• The mom and her two children who have been able to remain in an extended stay hotel while mom successfully found a new job.

There are other stories like this and there will be more. And our experience in Lawrenceville is certainly being replicated in other cities and states around the country. Even though you’ll almost never hear it from a 24-hour news channel or see it in your Twitter feed, this is how the vast majority of Americans respond in a crisis: They roll up their sleeves and help.

HWDG brings together community resources and technology to help un- and under-employed individuals achieve economic independence in three ways:

• Offering support: Individuals can easily search for local service providers who can help them overcome barriers to employment.
• Helping people find their strengths: Job seekers can identify their strengths and opportunities for employment through a soft skills assessment, a library of training programs, and a career pathway generator.
• Linking people directly with job opportunities: Job seekers can then connect with jobs relevant to their skill sets and personal preferences and geographic area.

The post A Community Responds to Need (or Good News You’ll Never See in Mainstream Media) appeared first on For Opportunity.

Government, particularly at the federal level, can only do so much to help those who are struggling in poverty to lead stable lives. We know instinctively that real change happens at the community level, when individuals, businesses, nonprofits, churches, and schools come together in the joint mission of lifting people out of poverty, giving them purpose, and strengthening the local economy.

That’s the theory behind Ģ����Ƶ Center for Opportunity’s Hiring Well, Doing Good (HWDG) initiative. HWDG brings together individuals seeking jobs with employers who need good workers and nonprofit community organizations who serve those in need.

Here’s the exciting news: Until this point, HWDG was all about one-on-one, face-to-face interaction. As a result, there was a natural limit to the number of people we could reach.

Announcing the HWDG online portal

The great news is that we’re taking the one-on-one interaction that makes HWDG so special and effective and scaling it online. In the coming weeks, we’ll be launching a new online portal website for HWDG as a pilot test in Columbus before scaling to other Ģ����Ƶ cities later in 2020, including South Gwinnett.

Individuals start with the HWDG online assessment tool to identify their barriers. The portal then shepherds them through the process and connects them with wrap-around services to remove their employment barriers and then directly with employers eager to hire.

Employers who participate benefit by getting a steady stream of committed, reliable workers ready to contribute.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the launch of HWDG’s online portal,” said Eric Cochling, Chief Program Officer and General Counsel for GCO who is also heading up HWDG. “This gives us a unique opportunity to reach underserved areas and treat individuals holistically. We know that a well-paying, upwardly mobile job is a key factor in well-being. But the benefits of work extend so far behind that—it provides a sense of purpose and contribution to one’s family and broader community.”��

What makes the HWDG portal unique

It would be a mistake to think of the HWDG portal as just another Monster.com or Indeed.com. What makes this portal unique is the fact that it addresses the individual from multiple sides.

We’ve actually vetted and worked with the full spectrum of local resources to ensure that peoples’ barriers are addressed and resolved. We match a specific individual to help for a specific barrier they’ve experienced that’s preventing them from getting a job.

That’s what really excites us. Other services only have one side of the equation—linking an individual with a job. But that’s not treating people like people. The wrap-around services provided by the HWDG portal remove the barriers that make employment difficult.

The post Introducing an Innovative New Way for Those in Poverty to Find Work appeared first on For Opportunity.