--- title: HR 1537. Atlanta Children's Day Shelter; 40 years of service to Georgia's children and families; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1537 cite_as: HR 1537, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1537 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1537.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1537/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73807 date: 2026-03-03 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1536.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1538.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1537.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1537 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-03 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Kim Schofield - Viola Davis - Stacey Evans - Bryce Berry text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1537/2025 upstream_id: 2128668 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - child homelessness - early childhood education - family services - Atlanta nonprofits - legislative commendation --- # HR 1537. Atlanta Children's Day Shelter; 40 years of service to Georgia's children and families; commend ## Text House Resolution 1537 By: Representatives Schofield of the 63rd, Davis of the 87th, Evans of the 57th, and Berry of the 56th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter for 40 years of service to Georgia's children and families; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter was founded in 1986 through the leadership and vision of the Junior League of Atlanta and North Avenue Presbyterian Church, who recognized the urgent need to provide stability, education, and comprehensive support to young children and families experiencing homelessness; and WHEREAS, for 40 years, the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter has served children and families facing housing instability by providing high-quality early childhood education, trauma-informed care, mental health services, family support, and crisis stabilization resources that create pathways toward long-term achievement and stability; and WHEREAS, across the State of Georgia, approximately 2 percent of public school students lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and nearly 60,000 children statewide are homeless or living in unstable housing, a figure that has increased substantially in recent years, placing at-risk students at a severe disadvantage in educational attainment, mental health, and overall family well-being; and WHEREAS, while Georgia has made progress in overall educational outcomes—such as record-high statewide graduation rates—students experiencing homelessness nationally and within Georgia continue to face academic and social-emotional challenges, graduating at lower rates compared with their peers and underscoring the need for targeted early intervention, behavioral health supports, and wrap-around services; and WHEREAS, the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter advances a nationally recognized two-generation (2Gen) approach, supporting both children and their parents simultaneously—ensuring that children receive high-quality early education and social-emotional support within a trauma-informed environment while parents gain access to workforce development, housing stability resources, mental health services, and individualized case management that strengthen the entire family unit; and WHEREAS, by centering resilience, healing, and whole-family well-being and through the dedication of its staff, board members, volunteers, donors, and community partners, the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter has strengthened thousands of families, fostered school readiness, and helped build a more resilient and opportunity-rich future for communities across the State of Georgia. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize and commend the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter for 40 years of transformative service to Georgia's children and families; honor its leadership in advancing a comprehensive two-generation strategy rooted in education, mental health, and trauma-informed care; and extend their appreciation for its vital contributions to improving the long-term educational, emotional, and life outcomes of children and families experiencing homelessness. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution commends the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter for 40 years of service supporting homeless and at-risk children and families across the state. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution passed by the Georgia House of Representatives honoring the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter, which was founded in 1986 by the Junior League of Atlanta and North Avenue Presbyterian Church. The resolution recounts the shelter's history of providing early childhood education, trauma-informed care, mental health services, and family support to children and families experiencing homelessness. The resolution notes that nearly 60,000 children statewide are homeless or living in unstable housing, and it praises the shelter's two-generation approach, which supports both children and their parents at the same time through education, workforce development, and case management. The resolution formally commends the organization and directs the Clerk of the House to send a copy to the shelter. It does not create any new law, funding, or program. ### What it does - Formally recognizes and commends the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter for 40 years of service to Georgia's children and families. - States factual background about child homelessness in Georgia, citing nearly 60,000 homeless or unstably housed children statewide. - Honors the organization's two-generation (2Gen) approach that supports both children and their parents simultaneously. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute a copy of the resolution to the shelter. - Creates no new legal requirements, funding, or programs, since it is a commemorative resolution rather than a law. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter, its staff, board members, volunteers, and donors. It also references Georgia children and families experiencing homelessness statewide, though it does not create any obligations or benefits for them. ### Why it matters Because this is a commemorative resolution, it has no direct legal or financial effect on Georgians. Its practical significance is public recognition: it puts the General Assembly's official praise on record for the shelter's work and highlights statewide child homelessness data included in the text. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses recount the shelter's 1986 founding and its 40 years of early childhood education, trauma-informed care, and family support services. - The resolution cites a statistic that nearly 60,000 children statewide are homeless or living in unstable housing. - The resolved clause commends the shelter for its two-generation strategy combining child education with parent support services. - A further resolved clause directs the Clerk of the House to distribute a copy of the resolution to the Atlanta Children's Day Shelter. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-03) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-03-03) - Sponsors: Kim Schofield, Viola Davis, Stacey Evans, Bryce Berry - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73807 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1537.md?full=1