Arkansas Ranks 45th in 2025 KIDS COUNT Data Book

We encourage lawmakers and officials in Arkansas to use this detailed information to unite across party lines and respond with initiatives that invest in young people.

Read More
House Tax and Spending Cuts Bill Reveals Policy Priorities

Early on Thursday morning (May 22), the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved its sweeping tax and spending cuts bill. While details are still emerging and we await the Congressional Budget Office’s overall scoring on the bill, most experts agree that the bill will add $3-$5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Savings […]

Read More
Proposed Federal Budget Cuts would Harm State Budget and Devastate Tens of Thousands of Arkansans

Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP would increase hardship and deepen the effects of poverty at a time when many Arkansas families already struggle to put food on the table and afford health insurance, child care, and housing.

Read More
Arkansas Combatting Increased Summer Hunger with Summer EBT

Arkansas is participating in the Federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Program for the second year in a row.

Read More
Why to Advocate Even When You Are Tired

If you’re looking for a “why” to keep yourself going, look around you and don’t forget to look in the mirror as well.

Read More
The Arkansas $11 Minimum Wage is Not Enough

It is once again time for the people of Arkansas to lead by increasing the minimum wage through direct democracy.

Read More
Medicaid 101

Medicaid is an essential health insurance program that provides coverage to hundreds of thousands of Arkansans.

Read More
The Disconnect Between Income and Taxes in Arkansas

The wealthy aren’t paying their fair share, and that hurts programs and policies that help all Arkansans. Our children have been back in school for weeks. Labor Day has passed. And we were teased with cooler weather last week. It feels like autumn is in the air. At this point the start of the 2025 […]

Read More
Lost in Transition: Maya’s Story Highlights the Impact of Medicaid Barriers on Postpartum Care in Arkansas

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is collecting stories from people who are insured through ARHOME, one of Arkansas’s Medicaid programs. Data points and numbers are important because they help us understand the impact, but at the end of the day, numbers are only part of the picture. Storytelling is imperative to understanding the impact […]

Read More

The Governor’s FY27 Budget Request: Four Key Takeaways

March 12, 2026

The Arkansas General Assembly 2026 Fiscal Session commences on April 8. In preparation for the session, Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson presented the Governor’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 general revenue budget to the legislative Joint Budget...

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once on the Postpartum Front

March 11, 2026

It won’t come as a surprise that I’m talking about postpartum Medicaid coverage again. For years now, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families has been at the forefront of the conversation about the need to extend postpartum coverage for...

Repost: What Baby Bonds Mean to Us, to Arkansas, and to the South

March 5, 2026

Editor’s note: The following was originally published on the website of The New School Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy. See the original here. Stay tuned for an upcoming report on Baby Bonds by Arkansas Advocates for Children...

A Deeper Dive on SNAP Cost Shifts and Their Potential Impact on Families Struggling to Make Ends Meet

February 26, 2026

On Tuesday we shared about the big decisions Arkansas lawmakers need to make this spring to shore up the state’s SNAP program due to provisions from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) taking effect in the near...

More News

Baby Bonds and Arkansas

March 16, 2026

A Wealth-Building Tool for Families, Communities, and the State Pete Gess Economic Policy Director Executive Summary The median household income in Arkansas now stands at $60,773. But this varies greatly across the state; while median household income in Benton...

2026 Voters’ Guide

January 26, 2026

Whether you have children or not, the well-being of our state’s kids is critical to everyone’s future. As advocates, it’s up to us to make sure voters and candidates are aware of the issues that matter most. Election years...

Preemption in Arkansas: Recent Trends and Implications for Local Democracy and Policy Innovation

October 22, 2025

Preemption is the process by which a higher level of government (usually the state) restricts or eliminates the ability of a lower level (local government) to regulate certain issues. Learn more about how preemption operates in Arkansas, including trends...

Eyes on the Finish Line

September 3, 2025

We Cannot Stop Until Every Child Has Health Insurance All Arkansans want our children to grow up healthy, safe, and supported. For more than two decades, Arkansas has worked to expand access to health coverage as a foundation for...

See All Publications