Arkansas lawmakers in the 2011 session were able to improve the health, economic security and education opportunities for many children and families, despite the continuing effects of The Great Recession.

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has a significant economic impact in Arkansas. Twenty-two percent of all Arkansas tax filers, or almost 300,000 families, claimed the EITC in 2007. The EITC brought $629 million directly to the Arkansas economy—an average of $2,213 per family.

Health programs promised money through a 2009 increase in the tobacco tax haven’t seen a penny, and dozens of others have been under budgeted in the last two fiscal years, according to an analysis by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. An expansion of the state’s child health insurance program and an electronic health records […]

Health programs promised money through a 2009 increase in the tobacco tax haven’t seen a penny, and dozens of others have been under budgeted in the last two fiscal years, according to an analysis by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. An expansion of the state’s child health insurance program and an electronic health records […]

The Arkansas General Assembly will likely consider one or more proposals to eliminate or reduce state taxes on capital gains during the 2011 legislative session. While the Arkansas state budget situation is not as bad as that of some states, it’s clear that state general revenue will be tight during the next two years. Proposals […]

Arkansas schools routinely fail to spend millions of dollars meant to help their poorest students catch up to their peers, according to an analysis of education spending data by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. Many school districts are rolling over poverty funds from year to year instead of investing in proven programs that help […]

Thirty-one years ago, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families cobbled together data on the well-being of children from census reports, annual reports, planning documents and grant proposals. The result, “Arkansas Children Have Problems,” was a comprehensive and accurate portrait of the state of Arkansas children—22.6 percent of whom lived in poverty. Today, 24.9 percent of […]

More than 400 children in Arkansas are waiting to find an adoptive family. They are in the custody of the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) and their parents’ rights have been terminated because they were unable or unwilling to care for them. Many of these children wait a long time for a family, especially […]

During the past three years Arkansas has created a task force of stakeholders, commissioned a comprehensive review of its juvenile justice system, developed a vision and set long-term goals for system change, and held regional meetings to discuss the comprehensive strategy for making changes and reforming the state’s approach to juvenile justice. These include redirecting […]

Every day Arkansas families struggle to make ends meet, and the recent economic downturn has made this challenge even more difficult. Just how much money does a family need to cover its basic needs? How much do various government supports and benefits help families to do so? This report will help to answer these questions.