AACF Announces Update to Executive Director Transition
AACF is pleased to announce that Jennifer Ferguson and Laura Kellams will serve as interim co-executive directors, beginning January 1, 2023.
The State Makes Positive Strides for Maternal Health, But More is Needed
On August 9, 2022, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced that Arkansas will be expanding its Medicaid programs to include more coverage for new and expecting mothers. With the help of federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, Arkansas will...
Family Glitch Resolved Just In Time For The Marketplace Open Enrollment
On November 1, 2022, the open enrollment period for health insurance plans under the ACA through the Health Insurance Marketplace begins.
The Challenge of Arkansas Teen Births: Facing Reality to Lower the Nation’s Highest Rate
Arkansas’s teen birth rate is the highest in the nation, but teenagers here aren’t any more sexually active here than they are in other states. The difference is access to contraceptives, especially the most effective kind, and lack of...
It’s Past Time for Congress to Address Food Insecurity: Families Need the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Passed Now
No child should go hungry no matter where they live, what they look like, or how much their parents earn. Everyone deserves to have access to nutritious food to ensure they can achieve their full potential.
New Census Data Point to Importance of Government Relief
Overall, federal investments shielded many Arkansas families from more severe hardship and helped shorten the country's economic crisis.
Hispanic Heritage Month is a Time to Reflect on the Strength of Our Immigrant Roots and Values
When immigrant families succeed, we all succeed.
Helping Arkansans Keep Medicaid Coverage as the Federal Public Health Emergency Ends
The pandemic and the economic downturn that followed negatively affected the finances of many Arkansas workers and families. Many lost their jobs, their paychecks and, in many cases, their health care coverage. As a result, many became eligible for...
Arkansas must change its strategy to prevent teen births
Though we’ve seen the rate drop over time, Arkansas has had the nation’s highest teen birth rate every year since 2013.
Addressing the Childhood Mental Health Crisis in Arkansas
Between 2016 and 2020, Arkansas had the third-highest increase in childhood depression and anxiety, behind California and South Dakota.