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AACF statement on elections and moving forward

A statement from AACF Executive Director Rich Huddleston on last night’s elections in Arkansas: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families would like to congratulate all of the Arkansas candidates on their victories last night. Now that the elections are...

Wonky Word Wednesday: Living wage

Imagine coming home after working a ten hour shift at a minimum wage job. Its pay day, but you’re stuck having to make a tough decision for your family. Your rent is due, you’re running low on groceries for...

Economic hardship hurts Arkansas kids

Economic hardship during childhood is the leading Adverse Childhood Event (ACE) in Arkansas. It is associated with learning and behavioral problems for students early on and can lead to health problems later in life, according to a new report...

What would it take to be number one?

Every year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation releases the Kids Count Data Book, a comprehensive, 50-state look at child welfare. Arkansas made gains in health coverage and education over the last year, but the child poverty rate went up...

Poverty guidelines are out of date

Poverty guidelines play two important roles, they are a scorecard for how we are doing as a state, and they help determine eligibility for dozens of programs that low-income Arkansans rely on. Because the current guidelines are outdated, they...

Poverty guidelines are out of date

The current poverty benchmarks in the United States are miserably out of date, basing their measurements on decades old research. In the 1960s, the average family of three spent about a third of their after tax income on food,...