ATHENS - The Georgia Commission on Family Violence (GCFV) presented its “Moving the Work Forward Award” to the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative, 9to5 Georgia during the annual family violence conference.

The “Moving the Work Forward Award” is presented to organizations that are innovative in their approaches and actions to ensuring that all victims of domestic violence are provided the necessary resources to live free of violence in their homes.

Founded in 2000, the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative is led by 9to5 Georgia and is comprised of over 50 local and statewide organizations, including health advocacy, women’s, faith-based, labor, and community groups. Their goal is to build support for public policies that strengthen communities by ensuring that working families can balance their responsibilities at home and on the job. The Collaborative has successfully won improved access to unemployment insurance for women and low-wage workers and, most recently, was instrumental in the passing of the Family Care Act during the 2017 legislative session.

Signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal on May 8, 2017 and effective July 1, 2017, the Family Care Act requires employers (with 25 or more employees) to allow employees (who work at least 30 hours per week) to use some of their earned and available sick leave to care for the employee’s immediate family member. “Immediate family member” is defined as “an employee’s child, spouse, grandchild, grandparent, parent, or any dependents as shown in the employee’s most recent tax return.”

“9to5 and the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative are honored to receive this award. We appreciate the support of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, as well as dozens of organizations across the state, in winning passage of the Family Care Act. This law is an important first step in Georgia to ensure that working families are able to balance their responsibilities at work and at home; to care for the health and well being of family members without putting their jobs or paycheck at risk,” said Cindia Cameron, National Organizing Director, 9to5.

“We are proud to present the Moving the Work Forward Award to 9to5 Georgia for their persistent efforts to advocate for women and low-wage workers in the state of Georgia, many of whom we know are impacted by domestic violence. The Family Care Act, which successfully passed in large part due to 9to5 Georgia and the Georgia Job/Family Collaborative’s statewide advocacy, will have a great impact and will strengthen the economic security of many victims and survivors as they tend to their family and responsibilities,” said GCFV Executive Director Jennifer Thomas.

The Commission’s twenty-third annual family violence conference was held at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia on November 7-9, 2017. The theme of this year’s conference was Maintaining Our Momentum: Proven and Promising Practices to End Family Violence. Over 400 local and national community stakeholders including: judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, advocates, survivors, faith leaders, counselors and community members participated in the conference.

About GCFV: The Georgia Commission on Family Violence, created by The Georgia General Assembly in 1992, is charged with developing a comprehensive state plan for ending family violence in Georgia. If you or someone that you know is being impacted by domestic violence, call 1-800-334-2836 to speak with a domestic violence advocate.

Contact Information:

For more information, please contact Jennifer Thomas at [email protected]