Pictured above from left, Olivia Buckner, George Ray, Helen Sloat, and Stanley Jones.

Nelson Mullins client Together Georgia honored Atlanta policy advisor Helen Sloat with its 2022 Legislative Service Award on Oct. 13. An award typically bestowed on a legislator, the Legislative Service Award recognizes outstanding commitment to supporting child welfare in the Georgia General Assembly. Together Georgia broke with the tradition of bestowing the award on a legislator this year, instead choosing to recognize Sloat for her unmatched fervor in advancing the cause of Georgia’s child welfare provider community.

Together Georgia is an alliance of child welfare providers, including agencies that place children and institutions that provide care for children and their families in Georgia’s foster care system. In addition to other policy initiatives, Sloat led Nelson Mullins’ Georgia Government Relations Team in securing a 10% rate increase for Together Georgia’s members this year, equating to $27.8 million per year added to the state’s budget. This was the largest single rate increase ever achieved for providers and the first since fiscal year 2019, when providers received a 2.5% increase.

Sloat is a Legislative Consultant with the Firm’s Georgia Government Relations Team and a registered Georgia lobbyist. She advocates for various clients including healthcare providers, insurers, and child welfare providers. Sloat tracks federal and state legislation, conducts research, drafts bills and amendments, and lobbies for legislative initiatives' introduction and passage. She has deep experience with Georgia's budgetary process.