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 […]

Thousands of Arkansans who aren’t required to work to be eligible for Medicaid are losing their coverage because they failed to report or report adequately their exemption.

Many Arkansas public schools still use ineffective and discriminatory school discipline policies. As a member of the state’s Task Force on School Discipline, Arkansas Advocates calls for more effective, research-based options to help improve outcomes for kids and schools.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading have produced a new guide to help parents understand the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Arkansas Department of Education now uses ESSA to measure how Arkansas’s students and schools perform. Arkansas’s ESSA plan is a welcome shift from the one-size-fits-all […]

Nearly 8,500 Arkansans lose health care coverage, with more losses expected each month A new brief from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families highlights that few people got new jobs, while many lost health insurance, as a result of the Arkansas Works work-reporting requirement. Each month the state releases a data report that tracks the […]

Poverty has long been known to impact health outcomes. People with greater wealth tend to live longer. They also live in safer homes and cleaner neighborhoods. They have access to healthier foods and better health care. Generally, they can avoid many of the health risks associated with poverty, like dangerous jobs and toxic stress. This […]

The annual Finish Line report provides a look at the status of health coverage for Arkansas children and their families. The report unveils key data on the progress we’ve made over the years and recommends additional solutions to ensure every child in Arkansas has a healthy start. This past year marked a significant milestone in children’s health […]

This November, Arkansas voters will elect candidates to important public offices, including seats in the U.S. Congress and the Arkansas General Assembly. The winners of these elections will be in a unique position to make public policy that will impact the future well-being and success of Arkansas’s children and families. Making children our top priority […]

When do children begin to learn? Believe it or not, school readiness begins in the womb. Decades of research show the first few years of life, including the prenatal months, are the most important for healthy brain development and success in school. Unfortunately, too many of our kids aren’t getting the boost they need for […]

Every year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation releases the Kids Count Data Book, a comprehensive, 50-state look at child welfare. This year, Arkansas made gains in economic well-being, but we lost ground in health, becoming one of the bottom five states in that category. What would it take for Arkansas to climb all the way up […]