New report shows one of the nation’s sharpest declines in rural uninsured rates LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’s decision to expand Medicaid has paid off for residents of small towns and rural areas, according to a new report by...
About one in four Arkansas workers – almost 300,000 people – would benefit from the minimum wage increase on the ballot in November, according to a new report released today by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. The proposal, which will...
When do children begin to learn? Believe it or not, school readiness begins in the womb. Research show the first few years of life, including the prenatal months, are the most important for healthy brain development. Unfortunately, too many...
Following the Tax Reform and Relief Legislative Task Force’s vote on tax recommendations earlier this week, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and the undersigned partners released this joint statement: Earlier this week, the General Assembly’s Tax Reform and...
Accounting for all the possible curveballs the future economy might throw at our state is impossible. That’s why legislators bother coming together every year to assess our budget and make choices based on the best available, most current information....
Note: This blog is second in a series of posts covering the findings in the 2018 Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Book. To read the first blog post, click here. The economy is still moving along following...
The number of Arkansas children in poverty has decreased by 28,000 since 2010, according to data in the 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data Book released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Despite this progress, 24 percent of the state’s...
The Trump administration has increased threats to the well-being of children of immigrants with a series of ill-conceived policies that promote separation of families, from the U.S. border with Mexico to our own Arkansas communities. It’s not just the...
The Tax Reform and Relief Task force continued to pare down the long list of potential tax changes this week. These changes will ultimately comprise their final recommendations, due in September of this year. Some good ideas made it...
A misguided drug testing program aimed at curbing drug abuse is leaving low-income families caught in the middle. Arkansas began drug screening and testing TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) applicants in 2015, and expanded the program and made...