Under the Arkansas Constitution, the Arkansas General Assembly must adopt a balanced budget that reflects the revenue forecast, the state’s official estimate of how much revenue the state expects to collect for the upcoming year. At the end of...
The following is a statement from Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Thank you, Arkansas policymakers. The best way to provide tax relief has dominated the first two weeks of the Arkansas legislative session....
Governor Asa Hutchinson’s new tax cut proposal includes a break, at long last, for some of the lowest income working families in our state. The bones of this plan are good – it isn’t too expensive, and it includes...
Legislators have just kicked off the 2017 legislative session, and ideas for big changes are buzzing around the Capitol. AACF will be on the ground advocating for bills that are best for kids and families in our state. In...
Our legislators are converging in Little Rock today to begin the 91st General Assembly. They will make hundreds of decisions about education, health care, child welfare, economic self-sufficiency, tax policy, and juvenile justice. These decisions will impact the everyday...
When ARKids First (Arkansas’s state-funded health insurance program for uninsured kids) was passed in March 1997, nearly a quarter of Arkansas children were uninsured. Fast forward almost 20 years, and our uninsured child rate is below 5%! In celebration of...
If you care about education, child welfare, juvenile justice, education, or public health in Arkansas, you must pay attention to the state budget. This is because, of course, great policy is not free. We are just days away from...
Arkansas is among the states with the highest income inequality in the country, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Arkansas ranks 18th in the country, with its richest residents— the top 5...
Note: This is part III of a three-part blog series on food insecurity and child hunger in Arkansas. Read part I here and part II here. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP is a federal food security...
One of the greatest achievements in the past two decades has been the increase in the number of American children who have health care coverage. We just celebrated the fact that our nation achieved a historic milestone with health...