The performance of the Arkansas Child Welfare System declined significantly beginning in 2004, as measured by a broad range of indicators related to protecting children from abuse and neglect and providing services to help children and families. The decline corresponded with a severe shortage of family service workers at the Division of Children and Family […]
In August 2005 Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) released a report on the Arkansas child welfare system entitled “More Than a Decade of Change – Yet Many Things Remain the Same.” The report examined performance data from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) from 2000 to 2004 on child safety indicators […]
Today, Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families (AACF) released an updated child welfare report examining performance data from the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/Child Welfare System. The report, “A Long Road Ahead: An Update on the Arkansas Child Welfare System,” details research on child safety indicators and performance measures related to family […]
Historically, changes in Arkansas’ child welfare system have been closely tied to high profile incidents of severe abuse or deaths in cases involving child maltreatment and the resulting public and legislative responses to these events. It has been more than 10 years since the Arkansas child welfare system received widespread public attention for such abuses […]
In March, the U.S. Census Bureau released data from the 2000 Census. The Census reported the number of people over age 18 and the total population by race and Hispanic origin. The most significant change in the recent Census is the change of minimum racial categories from four to five, with 57 additional racial combinations. […]
Welfare reform is now 4 years old in Arkansas. In April 1997, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation establishing the Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) program, the state’s version of welfare reform. The TEA program was passed in response to 1996 federal legislation that created the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program and […]