More than 150,000 Arkansans are estimated to be newly food insecure since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and state policies are making it harder for families to get the nutritional support they need during this time of crisis. Our new...
Prior to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity was a problem for over 15 percent of Arkansas households, higher than the national average of 11 percent. In fact, during fiscal year 2019, 1 in 9 Arkansans benefited...
Families across the state are facing serious hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting sharp economic decline, which likely will be severe and long-lasting. While Congress has passed a few bipartisan laws that provide some relief to families...
In our annual Finish Line report, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families looks at the status of health care coverage for Arkansas’s children and families. The report examines changes over the years and recommends actions to get Arkansas to The...
July 10, 2020 Arkansas Advocates’ updates are becoming bi-weekly. Starting today, we will publish here every other Friday. State Updates Going Back to School in Arkansas Governor Hutchinson announced on Thursday that he would delay the start of the school year...
June 26, 2020 State Updates Arkansas Hate Crime Bill Governor Hutchinson said he would support and sign a hate crime bill passed through the legislature, if the measure were along the lines of what he has supported in...
Trump Administration lawsuit would end health coverage for more than 299,000 Arkansans UPDATE: The Trump Administration filed its lawsuit late on Thursday, June 26, 2020. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting major recession, the Trump Administration and 18 state...
New data released June 11 shows that before the COVID-19 pandemic, Arkansas ranked as a bottom-quarter state for babies. The State of Babies Yearbook: 2020, released by early childhood development nonprofit ZERO TO THREE, comes at a critical time...
Child advocates concerned about pandemic’s impact The 31st Kids Count® Data Book, the most comprehensive annual report on child well-being in the United States, is available to ensure continuity of access to data for policymakers and advocates. The number of...
Slavery in the United States The first documented record of enslaved Africans arriving in America occurred in 1619. “Some 20 and odd Negroes” landed at Point Comfort, in the English settlement that would soon become Virginia. Their arrival was...