Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) had a noteworthy 2022! We celebrated AACF’s 45th year of operation throughout the year, sharing highlights of the organization’s history and looking forward to what a shared future vision for Arkansas might look like. In March, then-Executive Director Rich Huddleston announced his plans to depart the organization by […]

Year two of the COVID-19 pandemic had our staff continuing to adapt to a mostly virtual world as we worked with our partners, fellow advocates, and policymakers to advance our mission. The 2021 state legislative session brought particular challenges, not only because we were conducting our advocacy work primarily virtually, but also because of the […]

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families’ (AACF) mission has always been to ensure that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential. In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic strain highlighted the importance of our work on behalf of […]

While much of 2020 has already been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased to release our 2019 annual report.  What a busy year 2019 was! The 92nd General Assembly dominated between January and April, with more than 1,091 bills passed. Working with our partners and coalitions, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) […]

The year 2018 was one of forward-thinking for AACF. A major focus for our organization was developing a new five-year strategic plan to guide our work in the future. Among the priorities in our new plan are a greater focus on race equity: what policies are disproportionately harmful to Arkansans of color, and what can […]

The year 2017 was an eventful one for AACF! We celebrated 40 years of working to improve the lives of Arkansas kids and families. AACF observed the occasion in October with our first ever gala, held at Little Rock’s Statehouse Convention Center. During the event, we uplifted outstanding moments in AACF’s four-decade history. We also […]

What a year 2016 was for AACF! We had not one, but three legislative sessions during the first half of 2016, including the regular fiscal session and two special sessions on health care reform and funding for highways and roads. AACF staff worked diligently to ensure the voices of all children and families were heard […]

The year 2015 was a milestone year of political change in Arkansas. Because of term limits and the changing political landscape at the state capitol, we lost many of our long-time champions of children’s issues on both sides of the political aisle. At the same time, tax cuts that leave out the poor and reducing government spending have […]

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families has always done a good job of changing with the times. As we’ve watched the political climate in Arkansas shift over the past couple of years, we’ve responded with our own changes as well.

The political environment in Arkansas is changing. As talk of tax cuts and cut-backs rise above the din, making a strong argument for investments in our state’s children and families is more important than ever. With that in mind, AACF developed a new strategic plan in 2013 that will guide us over the next four […]