More than 5 million children in the United States (7 percent of the total child population) have had a parent incarcerated at some point in their lives, including an estimated 61,000 in Arkansas, announced Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation today. In its latest KIDS COUNT® policy report, […]

Download the PDF: What Would it Take to Be Number One 2015

This legislative session, like many others before it, had its ups and downs. The children and families of Arkansas won some, but suffered some major losses as well. The Private Option, Arkansas’s version of Medicaid expansion, will continue to provide health coverage for low-income Arkansans, at least through 2016. However, changes are likely on the horizon. Our state’s […]

Every year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation releases the Kids Count Data Book, a comprehensive, 50-state look at child welfare. Arkansas made gains in health coverage and education over the last year, but the child poverty rate went up to 29 percent. Those ups and downs are consistent with national trends, but what would it […]

The 2013 session of the Arkansas General Assembly was an historic one. Republican legislators took over both chambers for the first time since Reconstruction. Lawmakers passed sweeping health coverage legislation, known as the Private Option, guaranteed to change the way Arkansans access health care in their communities. But some things were the same as ever. […]

The Arkansas legislature faces unprecedented territory when they reconvene in January 2013 for the 89th General Assembly. While each session creates new opportunities, this Assembly must immediately deal with a challenge-bridging what some believe is a $400 million shortfall in the state’s Medicaid budget. Constitutionally mandated revenue stabilization (aka, a balanced budget) requires lawmakers to […]

This issue brief is intended to be used as a supplement to the 2007 Kids Count Databook which is being released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The databook, which is released annually, compares Arkansas to every other state on measures of child well-being. This year’s report ranks Arkansas 45th in the nation. This brief report examines several […]

Arkansas lawmakers in the 2011 session were able to improve the health, economic security and education opportunities for many children and families, despite the continuing effects of The Great Recession.

In these difficult economic times, Arkansas faces major challenges in meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families. Decreasing tax revenues and growing demand for services and support require tough decisions, thoughtful approaches and the political courage to balance a range of demands on state government. This year’s release of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s […]

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families created this guide to introduce you to the world of of child advocacy and to outline the skills needed to be a successful child advocate. It is a practical guide suitable to a variety of children’s issue areas such as education, health, economic self-sufficiency, child welfare and juvenile justice. […]