Join us for Soup Sunday events in Little Rock (February 17) and Springdale (February 24). AACF has been hosting Soup Sunday for over 30 years. Come enjoy soups, bread, and desserts from over 30 local restaurants including Cotham's in the City, Capitol Bistro, Dave's Place, Sushi Café, Chi's Dim Sum and Bistro, Dixie Café, The House, and many, many more. We are excited to welcome the return of the The Flying Balloon'O Brothers band for our evening's entertainment as well as our silent auction with items such as pottery, books, art, jewelry and more! This event really does have something for everyone. It's fun for the whole family. 

Locking up non-violent youthful offenders is costly and ineffective. Using community-based alternatives to incarceration - like education, job training, drug treatment, and rehabilitation programs - saves the state $41,786 per youth and reduces their chances of ending up back in the juvenile justice system, according to a new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.

Join child advocates from across the state at the Arkansas State Capitol to participate in the legislative process, to meet with local legislators, attend legislative committee meetings, and observe lawmakers voting on bills that affect the lives of children and their families. Lunch is included and registration is free!

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 one-time funding. The potential impact of the shortfall on services is $460 million in total state and federal funding).

80,000 Arkansas parents stand to benefit if the state chooses to extend Medicaid to those who now qualify under the new health care law, a new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families says. That's good news for the state's children, who are more likely to get health coverage if their parents are also enrolled.

Every dollar invested in advocacy brings $114 in investments for communities, according to a recent national study. To recognize this impact and encourage further support for advocacy and organizing in the state, nonprofit organizations in Arkansas are promoting advocacy and organizing during the month of October.

TheWinthrop Rockefeller Foundation and several of its nonprofit partners - Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Arkansas Coalition for Excellence, Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Center for Artistic Revolution,Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center, Rural Community Alliance, and Southern Bancorp will spend the month of October celebrating the findings of the report, Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities: Impacts of Advocacy, Organizing, and Civic Engagement in the Gulf/Midsouth Region, and promoting advocacy and organizing.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (September 4, 2012) - Arkansas lags behind other states when it comes to reading proficiency by the end of the third grade, according to a new report released by the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. The report, "The Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: A Call to Action," makes the case that third grade reading proficiency is one of the most important indicators of school success and high school graduation. For a copy of the report go to www.ar-glr.net. 

Children of immigrants important to Arkansas's future economic success

LITTLE ROCK - This morning's decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to uphold the Affordable Care Act signals an enormous victory for children and families in Arkansas and everywhere in the country. The ruling affirms the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as the law of the land, including the requirement that most Americans buy health insurance or pay a tax. This ruling ensures that almost half a million uninsured Arkansans will have access to affordable, quality health coverage.

This morning, the Supreme Court struck down mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles. The decision will reverse an Arkansas court ruling in the case of Kuntrell Jackson, who was convicted of first-degree murder in Blytheville, Arkansas, in 1999. Although Jackson, who was 14 years old at the time, did not pull the trigger he received a sentence of life without parole for being an accomplice to murder. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families applauds today's decision, but calls on the state legislature to get rid of life-without-parole sentences for juveniles completely.