ARVoices Blog Feed

Immigration reform: A boon to the Arkansas economy

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:07:15 -0500

We know a key to our state's economic future is ensuring that the children of Arkansas's immigrants have opportunities to succeed, as Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families outlined in a report last year. Now, a new report released late last week by the Center for American Progress shows that comprehensive immigration reform would be a multi-billion-dollar win for Arkansas.

U.S. Senate Bill 744, the compromise federal legislation put forward by the bipartisan Senate "gang of eight," calls for a pathway to legalization and citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in America. It's not an easy or short path, and it must be earned. It would enable an estimated 55,000 undocumented immigrants in Arkansas to produce and earn significantly more than they do today, where many work in the shadows of our economy.

For some good background on exactly what kind of impact immigrants have on the Arkansas economy, be sure to check out the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation report, "A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas: Economic and Fiscal Benefits and Costs." Immigrants in the state have a huge direct impact on spending, however, the report found there were many "indirect effects" as well, including "an estimated 36,100 spin-off jobs and $1.3 billion in additional labor income in 2010. Immigrant spending was also responsible for $237 million in additional state tax receipts and $294 million in federal taxes."

As the Center for American Progress outlined in its report, legal status would increase productivity, with wage gains from these taxpayers and consumers rippling through the economy. A pathway to legalization and citizenship, if passed, would:

Increase the gross state product by $4.2 billion.
Increase earnings of state residents by $2.5 billion.
Create an average of 600 additional jobs annually.
Significantly increase the income and pay of currently undocumented Arkansans. Over a 10-year period, they'll earn $2.1 billion more and pay an additional $257 million in state and local taxes on those increased earnings.

For more information on the Senate bill and its effect on families, check out this report from our partner organization, First Focus: Immigration Reform and the Implications for Children.

Pre-K closes the education gap

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:10:27 -0500

Two new studies on the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) Pre-K Program find that it has meaningful impact on children who participate. More importantly, ABC has helped to shrink the education gap between economically-disadvantaged students and other children.

The first study, conducted by the National Institute for Early Education (NIEER) has followed the same group of Arkansas students since the 2005-2006 school year and found that children who attend ABC show positive outcomes, including improved scores in vocabulary and math through the second grade and in literacy through the third grade. Children who attended ABC programs fared better in the study than children who did not.

The second study was performed by the Arkansas Research Council. It shows that pre-K is helping to close the education gap between low-income students and their more affluent counterparts. It also showed that children who attended ABC were more prepared for kindergarten than children who did not attend.

The studies are encouraging. This and other research consistently shows that pre-K makes a huge impact on a child's education and future opportunities. The ABC program has been a success here in Arkansas. However, funding for the program has been stagnant since 2008. That's troubling to child advocates who think the state is missing out on a smart investment. Funding for other public education programs has grown over the same time period. The state's Public School Fund has increased by 7.3 percent since 2008. Adequacy funding for public schools has increased by 8.6. While it's important to adequately fund all public education programs, pre-k shouldn't be left behind.

"There is absolutely no doubt that investing in pre-K programs will give us huge returns," says Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. "Since 2008, the level of state funding for pre-K has been flat. We would encourage our leaders to think more seriously about investing in early education, especially in light of the findings presented in these two studies."

Huddleston says that investing more funds in the ABC program would pay off down the road.

"Kids who attend pre-K do better throughout their educational careers," he says. "They have a better shot at graduating, which means they have more opportunities for higher education, which means they have a better chance at a good job. Those things are all great for the state. Companies will come and invest in Arkansas because we have a smart, well-educated workforce. Investing in pre-K will help the state economically."

For some background information on how Arkansas is doing when it comes to access to pre-K programs, please read the 2012 AACF report "Pre-K: Access to Success in Arkansas."

Number of uninsured kids on the decline

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:10:15 -0500

The number of uninsured children in Arkansas has declined over the past year, now totaling only six percent. Thanks to ARKids First and Medicaid, the percentage of children without health insurance has dropped from 22 percent to just six percent over the past 16 years.

According to a new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), Arkansas ranks fourth in the nation at enrolling eligible children in ARKids First and Medicaid with 92.5 percent of eligible kids enrolled. Thanks to strong outreach, enrollment simplifications, and policy changes, the state has fewer uninsured children than last year.

However, that six percent uninsured rate translates to 46,000 children. The report, "Crossing the Finish Line 2012: Nearing the home stretch for covering kids and parents in Arkansas," says some groups are disproportionately uninsured, including: children in west, northwest, and central AR; Hispanic and Marshallese children; and adolescents age 11-18.

Anna Strong, AACF health policy director, says the state is moving closer and closer toward AACF's goal of making sure all children have access to quality health coverage.

"Arkansas's new 'private option' legislation will provide access to health coverage for about 80,000 uninsured parents in the state," Strong says. "As parents get coverage, their children will, too. So, that's a great achievement. We also expect to see the number of uninsured children drop thanks to the Affordable Care Act. We're already starting to see additional benefits of the law kick in. For example, children can no longer be denied coverage for having a pre-existing condition like asthma or a congenital heart defect."

Strong says effective, targeted outreach and smooth enrollment procedures will help ensure that all children and families get enrolled and stay enrolled.

Arkansas holds steady in national preschool report rankings

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:32:18 -0500

According to a new national report, funding for pre-K in Arkansas has remained constant, despite a trend of decreasing funding in other states. The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) releases a State of Preschool report every year. Arkansas usually does well in these rankings given the success of the state's Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program. Arkansas ranks 11^th in access for 4 year-olds and 5^th in access for 3 year-olds. Arkansas ranks 10^th in the country when it comes to spending per child.

The report, titled The State of Preschool 2012, noted that per-child enrolled funding appears to have increased in Arkansas. However, that is the result of reduced enrollment rather than additional funding. ABC has not received an increase in funding since 2008. Arkansas should be proud of our high ranking and the high quality of our pre-K program but the lack of a funding increase over the last few years poses a threat to our ability to maintain that level of quality. In contrast with cuts in other states, Arkansas's rankings in spending have improved just by maintaining the state's level of effort. Arkansas declined in ranking for access for 4-year olds since last year's report.

Arkansas continues to provide high-quality programs, achieving nine of NIEER's 10 benchmarks for quality standards, putting it in the top 10 states for quality. Quality standards benchmarks include: comprehensive early learning standards; teacher qualifications and development; and class size and staff ratios. The standards also address health screenings, meals, and monitoring.

Early childhood education has a critically important role in preparing our youngest citizens for school and ultimately productive lives in the global economy. When the achievement gap for low-income students remains static despite overall gains in our student's achievement level, strategies, such as pre-K, which have documented successs at getting students an even start in school must be protected and expanded for all low-income children.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the trend toward less funding for pre-K is discouraging.

"The news here isn't as good, isn't as positive as we would like it to be," Duncan said. "If ever there was report that makes the case for the need for President Obama's preschool-for-all proposal, this report is it."

President Obama proposed a federal-state partnership in his State of the Union address that would provide public preschool for 4-year-old students whose families made below twice the poverty level.

AACF statement on passage of Private Option

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:14:36 -0500

Yesterday, Arkansas senators joined their counterparts in the House of Representatives and decided to make health coverage affordable for more Arkansas citizens. The "Private Option" will allow the state to use Medicaid dollars to buy private insurance plans for low-income Arkansans, thus providing an affordable health coverage option to 250,000 people. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families would like to publicly thank our senators for voting for this very important measure.

A few of our elected officials deserve special thanks for their strong leadership throughout this process. Gov. Mike Beebe worked with federal administration officials to make sure Arkansas could come up with an inventive way to provide more health coverage to the people of this state. Rep. John Burris, Sen. Jon Dismang, and Sen. David Sanders showed extraordinary leadership, helping to craft an innovative approach to extending health coverage to more Arkansans and making the case to their colleagues time and time again that this was the right decision to make for Arkansas. House Speaker Davy Carter and President Pro Tem of the Senate Michael Lamoureux did an exceptional job of ushering the bills through both chambers. We would also like to thank all of our senators and representatives who worked overtime yesterday evening to make sure we took this crucial step.

As we have said many times, this option is a good deal for our economy, our local hospitals, and all of the state's children and families. Today's vote was an important victory for hard-working, low-income folks in Arkansas who would otherwise have no other option for affordable health coverage. We are excited about this opportunity to make sure more Arkansans are healthy, and we are very happy that our lawmakers were able to come together and do the right thing for the people of this state.

Rich Huddleston, executive director of AACF, says yesterday's vote will move the state forward.

"Here in Arkansas we've shown how important and effective Medicaid is, especially ARKids First," Huddleston says. "Although this private option isn't what we expected at the beginning of the session, it does get us closer to our goal of making sure all Arkansans have access to affordable coverage. Since ARKids started in 1997, we've seen the percentage of uninsured kids drop drastically. Yesterday's vote means we can help 80,000 uninsured parents in this state get coverage too. All in all, this well help around 250,000 people. This is definitely a good deal for Arkansas."

Now, the work of implementation begins. AACF will continue to provide accurate and timely information to the public and to lawmakers as the Private Option goes from an idea to a reality. We will also be paying very close attention to the implementation process. We want to make sure that as we move toward more affordable health coverage for all Arkansans, we do it in a way that is in the best interest of this state's children and families.

School discipline bill heads to the governor's office

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:22:25 -0500

SB 1147, an "Act to evaluate the impact of school discipline on student achievement," has cleared both chambers and is on its way to the governor's office to be signed into law. The bill, by Sen. Linda Chesterfield (D-Little Rock), calls for the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) to prepare and submit a report to the State Board of Education each year that contains the discipline rates for in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, expulsion, corporal punishment, and referrals to law enforcement authorities for each school district. The report will also note any disparities in disciplinary actions for several subpopulations of students. Perhaps one of the most interesting components of the report is that it will include the achievement status for each school district, which is a school performance measure used by the state.

ADE will track the progress that school districts make from year to year in reducing overall disciplinary rates and rates of disciplinary disparity between student subpopulations. ADE will also assess the relationship of student achievement to reduction in discipline rates and disparity. Districts that make progress will be identified and studied to learn what strategies are successful.

To help districts, ADE will provide information by reporting discipline-related strategies, alternatives, and resources that are available to school districts; identify resources needed to reduce the use of restraints with students with disabilities; and, survey districts to determine which districts currently are using innovative, research-based discipline strategies such as Positive Behavior Intervention and Support System and Restorative Justice, or others. Finally, information on funding needs related to these resources will be provided by ADE as part of the legislative biennial educational adequacy study.

This is a big win for Arkansas students and schools. It puts us on a path toward less severe disciplinary actions and will hopefully curb disparities in how certain students are treated. To find out more about disparities in disciplinary actions taken in Arkansas schools, read our recent report, "Keeping Kids in Class." AACF has worked hard this session to see this bill through. We applaud Sen. Chesterfield and others who supported this effort to make sure disciplinary actions taken in Arkansas schools are fair and not overly-punitive.

Small minority blocks popular "Private Option" bill

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:25:57 -0500

Earlier today, a small minority of Arkansas lawmakers defied the will of the majority of Arkansans - and House of Representatives members - and thus missed an incredible opportunity to make affordable health coverage more accessible for their constituents. The Private Option bill that would allow the state to use Medicaid dollars to buy private insurance plans for low-income Arkansans failed in the House earlier today. Sixty-nine representatives did the right thing today and they should be applauded. However, the bill did not get the three-fourths majority necessary for passage.

The Private Option is a good deal for our economy, our local hospitals, and all of the state's children and families. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families hopes some kind of solution or compromise can be reached in the coming days. AACF thanks all Representatives - from both sides of the aisle - who voted for the Private Option. Their leadership and their desire to do what's best for all Arkansans led to a bipartisan solution that would have been of great benefit to the state.

Moving forward, the state of Arkansas will face some big questions. Without the Private Option, 160,000 Arkansans will now have no affordable option for health coverage. These are low-income folks who make "too much" money to qualify for Medicaid (over $4,000/year for an individual) and not enough to qualify for subsidies through the new health care exchanges.

AACF Executive Director Rich Huddleston says today's vote will be difficult for some legislators to explain.

"We know from cost estimates and projections that the Private Option would actually save the state money and that the influx of federal dollars would be good for the economy," Huddleston says. "But the real issue here is fairness. For those 160,000 folks who get left out because of politics at the state legislature, that's a shame. Other states will go with some kind of extension of Medicaid. So a low-income, working mother in another state will now have options for affordable health care. A low-income, working woman in Arkansas won't because of this vote."

It remains unclear this afternoon about the options available. The bill will likely come up for another vote tomorrow. However, with only four days remaining in the 89^th General Assembly and several other pressing matters at hand, lawmakers may have missed their only chance to pass the Private Option. Without persuading at least six additional lawmakers to vote yes, there is little hope that affordable health coverage will become reality for all Arkansans.

"Private Option" good for veterans

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:11:55 -0500

Arkansas veterans would benefit greatly from the new affordable coverage options available in the state. Statewide, 20,300 Arkansas veterans are uninsured. The state is considering whether or not to strengthen health care coverage for low- and moderate-income Arkansans. The proposed solution involves using Medicaid funds to purchase private health insurance plans for low-income adults - the "private option." Middle-income adults will be able to purchase private health insurance with the help of an advance tax credit to pay the premiums, while the highest earners would not receive any subsidies but could still purchase quality coverage.

Of the 20,300 uninsured veterans in Arkansas, 42 percent, or 8,500, are low-income and would qualify for Arkansas's "private option" coverage, which is paid by Medicaid. The remaining 11,800 uninsured veterans would be able to buy coverage through the health benefits exchange marketplace. Veterans' spouses also face hard times when it comes to finding health coverage. About 12,700 Arkansas veterans' spouses are also uninsured - and about 35 percent of these uninsured spouses could qualify for the "private option" coverage for low-income earners.

If Arkansas chooses NOT to accept the "private option," more than 6,000 veterans and 2,700 Arkansan veteran spouses earning below the poverty line would be LEFT WITHOUT AFFORDABLE COVERAGE. In the world of almost-universal coverage toward which the U.S. is moving, it seems unjust to leave almost 9,000 veterans or their spouses with no coverage.

Nationally, more than a million non-elderly veterans - one in 10 - lack health insurance coverage. Beginning in 2014, most of these adults who served their country could qualify for subsidized health care coverage. Although the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system is a resource for many veterans, there are barriers in place that make it difficult for some to access the care they need.

Arkansas's unique "private option" solution could deliver affordable, accessible health coverage to thousands of low-income veterans and their spouses. Arkansas should move forward with covering all Arkansans through this unique, state-based solution and help veterans remain an integral part of their community.

(PDF version of this post here).

Source: Haley, Jennifer and Kenney, Genevieve. Uninsured Veterans and Family Members: State and National Estimates of Expanded Medicaid Eligibility under the ACA. (March 2013). Urban Institute.

Strengthening voluntary home visiting programs - a legislative victory

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:20:59 -0500

Today, Gov. Beebe participated in a signing ceremony for Act 528, "An Act to Improve the Health and Stability of Arkansas Families and to Strengthen Voluntary Home Visitation Programs." Voluntary home visiting programs match parents with trained professionals to provide information and support during pregnancy and throughout the child's first few (and very formative) years. This is a big win for Arkansas kids and families.

We want to thank all of you who worked to put together a successful legislative home visiting proposal for Arkansas. It was a model of collaboration and a sincere commitment to make our state's home visiting programs adhere to high national standards. Home Visiting Network members were not afraid to account for what happens when they interact with vulnerable children and their families.

Act 528 sets up one of the strongest home visiting systems in the country by ensuring investments are directed to programs that are proven to achieve successful results for children and families. The act, which was approved unanimously in both the senate and the house, also mandates that home visiting programs track and measure outcomes such as improvements in maternal and infant health, family self-sufficiency and school readiness.

The law requires that at least 90 percent of Arkansas's funding for home visiting go to support evidence-based or promising programs, ensuring the state will receive solid returns on investment for taxpayers and strong results for participating families. The policy also sets forth a clear process for measuring outcomes across all state-funded home visiting programs, which includes collaboration and data sharing between the departments that oversee home visiting services: the State Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board, the Department of Health, and the Department of Human Services.

Arkansas' reforms are based on a policy framework developed by the Pew Home Visiting Campaign. Pew's nationwide survey of states' home visiting programs found that most lacked policies that link funding to program effectiveness and that few adequately monitored family outcomes.

The law has support from a broad coalition including policy makers, state agency staff, advocates, home visiting providers, and leaders in the health care community. Crucial legislative leadership came from Senator Ronald Caldwell, and Representatives David Meeks and Warwick Sabin.

Drug-testing unemployment beneficiaries is bad policy

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:38:21 -0500

Senator Jeremy Hutchinson's senate bill to require drug-tests for individuals as a condition of receiving unemployment benefits passed out of the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor this morning.

You can read the bill here. While we of course want all hard-working families to be drug-free, we have several concerns about the impact this bill could have on children and low-income families who have experienced job loss. We don't want to punish children by taking away unemployment benefits for which their parents have already paid taxes. Taking away unemployment insurance could jeopardize the well-being of a child if the parents can't pay electricity or heat bills, cover rent, or purchase healthy food.

Other concerns:

This bill is an unfunded mandate to the Department of Workforce Services, which is already at risk for federal TANF cuts. TANF cuts have already taken child abuse investigators out of schools - what will we cut to pay for the staff, training, and resources needed to drug test recipients in every county? We already know across-the-board drug testing for welfare recipients is not cost-effective.
The bill does not help families get treatment following a positive screen. Adults today have very limited access to substance use disorder treatment in Arkansas. Without strengthening Medicaid as the new health law allows, about half of low-income adults are uninsured. Even if a positive drug test is identified, there is no path to treatment for many families.
This bill could overstep regulations being set by the Federal Department of Labor. States are waiting on final rules to be promulgated regarding drug testing for UI benefits. Though the Department of Labor said drug testing may be allowed for a limited number of occupations, drug testing as a part of initial eligibility is not allowed. The only cases in which drug testing can be part of an initial application for unemployment insurance are separation from a past job for drug use OR if the only work that's suitable for the individual requires frequent drug testing due to industry regulations (i.e. truck driving).
When Hutchinson initially presented his bill in late February he admitted that testing of this nature could be found unconstitutional. Suspicion-less drug testing may violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. In short, we feel this bill does not help Arkansas families who have met hard times to find new jobs or access to needed health services such as drug treatment.