This week the Senate passed the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (H.R.4213), which includes a 6-month extension of extra federal help for state Medicaid programs facing recession-induced growth in the number of people relying on them for coverage (the original measure ends at the end of this year).

Many experts agree that the federal poverty measures are outdated and underestimate the amount of money a family must to earn to take care of all of its basic needs. The current federal poverty measures do not accurately count family resources because income before taxes is the only resource accounted for and it does not include taxes paid, tax credits received (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit) or non-cash transfer programs like food stamps when determining if a family lives in poverty.

Arkansas could lose jobs and revenue; ask our Senators to vote for the Kerry/Murray amendment today.

The countdown is on! It's tournament time and like college basketball, AACF is having a winning tournament of its own. Over the next few months, AACF will travel across the state to host a number of regional meetings for both the Arkansas Finish Line and Arkansas Kids Count Coalitions.

Let's kick off the campaign season with conversations about making a difference for children and families in your community. Legislators and candidates are eager to hear solutions-and you can be part of it. During the next few months Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and the Arkansas Kids Count Coalition would like to help bring a "Policy Café" to your community.

As the health reform debate continues to surge on, President Obama recently called for a up or down vote to end the process within the next few weeks. In the face of solid Republican opposition, the President and Democratic congressional leaders have been in talks about the process of reconciliation due to continued opposition from the minority party in Congress. Reconciliation is a process outlined in the Congressional Budget Act that allows for accelerated consideration of legislation involving mandatory spending programs or taxes by ensuring that a minority of Senators can't block the will of the majority through a filibuster (refusing to stop debating the issue). Reconciliation legislation cannot be filibustered and needs only 51 votes to pass, instead of the usual 60.

Last week the General Assembly finished up their first ever fiscal session--but not before getting language attached to the Medicaid budget ensuring that any major changes to eligibility or services will be run through the legislature.
We mentioned in an earlier post that Medicaid was soliciting recommendatons for ways to cut the budget.  Over 30 individuals and groups have submitted recommendations for ways to rein in the rising Medicaid costs.  You can see every single proposal on the DHS web site.  AACF encouraged agency leaders to consider the following as they look for ways to contain costs:

A new report compiled by U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln's office and released today shows that more than 200,000 children in Arkansas spend their after school hours without the supervision of an adult, according to a news release from Lincoln's office.

While legislators wrap up the fiscal session at the State Capitol today (more on that to come), the White House is hosting a health reform summit to gain some common ground to achieve meaningful reform this year.

NWA Soup Sunday is this Sunday, Feb. 28. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. at the Northwest Arkansas Convention Center in Springdale.