The Arkansas General Assembly convened on Monday, but this year’s session will look different from any we’ve ever seen. With the pandemic raging, the legislature has adopted new procedures to minimize the spread of the virus. The Governor kicked...
Last year was a difficult one for Arkansas’s children and families. But thanks to the advocacy of people like you, several major pieces of legislation passed to help keep families in their homes; ensure that, even with schools closed, children...
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) was founded in 1977 to advance public policies that improve the well-being of children and families, especially those made most vulnerable because of poverty, racism, and other structural barriers. Through policy research...
While Arkansas Parents Give Afterschool Programs High Marks, New Household Survey Finds Huge Unmet Demand for Afterschool in the State More Arkansas parents want afterschool programs for their children than are able to access them, according to a recent household survey...
Arkansas performed better than most states on access to health insurance, but is falling short on food and housing security indicators, according to Kids, Families and COVID-19: Pandemic Pain Points and a Roadmap for Recovery, a 50-state report of...
Analysis shows 43 percent increase in the number of uninsured Arkansas children between 2016 and 2019 An estimated 43,000 Arkansas children were uninsured last year, a number that has increased about 43 percent since 2016, according to a new report released...
Federal Policymakers Must Increase Medicaid Funding and Maintain Strong Beneficiary Protections Medicaid enrollees working in essential frontline industries are among those at risk if federal policymakers fail to provide needed increases in Medicaid funding or weaken protections for program...
The Senate COVID-19 relief plan unveiled Monday doesn’t meet the needs of Arkansas’s families and doesn’t address our looming state fiscal crisis, which means it will make the recession longer and more painful, Rich Huddleston, Executive Director of Arkansas...
New data released June 11 shows that before the COVID-19 pandemic, Arkansas ranked as a bottom-quarter state for babies. The State of Babies Yearbook: 2020, released by early childhood development nonprofit ZERO TO THREE, comes at a critical time...
Child advocates concerned about pandemic’s impact The 31st Kids Count® Data Book, the most comprehensive annual report on child well-being in the United States, is available to ensure continuity of access to data for policymakers and advocates. The number of...