Medicaid works for Arkansas. It helps our disabled neighbors, elderly Arkansans, and thousands of children in low-income homes get care when they need it most. According to DHS officials, Medicaid will face a $138 million state budget shortfall in 2014 after help from $160 million in new state dollars ($70 million of which will be […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Download the executive summary for a brief overview of the full report. Reading proficiently by the end of third grade impacts a variety of outcomes such as: Children’s ability to learn after third grade Children’s academic outcomes as measured by standardized tests, grades, and course failures Non-academic outcomes such as self-esteem and behavioral […]
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 […]
Critical Generation: Improving the Well Being of Children of Immigrants in Arkansas Any discussion of Arkansas’s future is incomplete without understanding the challenges faced by children in immigrant families. They account for the majority of growth in Arkansas’ child population in the last decade. This new population, mostly Hispanic and almost all U.S. citizens, presents […]
When a family member becomes involved in the Arkansas child welfare system, it can be a scary and confusing time for the child, the parents, and relatives. As a relative, you can play an important role in helping a child. Children who are removed from their parents or guardian do better when placed with family […]
Any discussion of Arkansas’s future is incomplete without understanding the challenges faced by children in immigrant families. They account for the majority of growth in Arkansas’ child population in the last decade. This new population, mostly Hispanic and almost all U.S. citizens, presents new opportunities in our effort to ensure that all children in Arkansas […]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires states to have a health insurance “Exchange” that will provide high-value and affordable coverage for consumers, including individuals and small businesses, in place by 2014. The Exchange will be a marketplace where Arkansans can go to enroll in private insurance plans and, for those with income […]
Research continues to confirm the importance of high-quality early childhood education as a strategy for improving the social, emotional, and intellectual development of children as well as increasing the likelihood of their future academic and economic success. A 2008 study by Jay Barth and Keith Nitta, for example, found that access to quality pre-k in […]
Executive Summary: Download the executive summary for a brief overview of the full report. Over the last two decades, standards-based education reform has led the march toward accountability, high-stakes testing, and rigorous performance standards for the United States’ education system. Beginning in 1990 with President George H. W. Bush’s America 2000 legislation, continuing with President […]
In 2008, the national Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap (CATG) initiative was launched in Arkansas with support from the Open Society Foundation and with local support from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Arkansas Community Foundation. The goal of the initiative was to mobilize public support for expanding addiction treatment by increasing public funding, broadening insurance […]