After decades of setbacks, years of controversy, and multiple legislative hearings, it’s easy to be skeptical about anything really changing at the Arkansas Division of Youth Services (DYS). A recent legislative hearing about the large numbers of youth being...
Pre-K Now has released a new brief, “The Case for Pre-K,” highlighting the vast and emerging body of research that continues to demonstrate the potential of publicly funded, large-scale pre-k programs as a strategy for school reform. The brief...
On March 17, 2010, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas released her “mark” for Child Nutrition Reauthorization. The bill, known as the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (“the Act”), was passed by the Senate Agricultural Committee on March...
From our partners at the Half in Ten project: Tell the Senate to Create Over 2 Million Jobs in Low-Income Communities The Senate is considering legislation to spur job creation, but it isn’t clear if the bill will include...
After decades of attempts and more than a year of debate in the current Congress, the final health reform package passed both chambers and has been signed by President Obama last week. Details on the potential impacts of the...
Voluntary home visiting programs designed to help young families got a big boost in the health reform legislation. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act invests $1.5 billion over five years in maternal and child health block grants for...
Health reform is a major victory for Arkansas children and families. It delivers what families need: affordable, reliable health coverage that won’t disappear if they lose a job or get sick. What, specifically, does the bill passed late last...
This year promises to be an important year for elections at the state and national level. Child advocates and citizens need to get children and families into the minds and platforms of candidates before Election Day. That will ensure...
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...
Many experts agree that the federal poverty measures are outdated and underestimate the amount of money a family must to earn to take care of all of its basic needs.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...