The year 2015 was a milestone year of political change in Arkansas. Because of term limits and the changing political landscape at the state capitol, we lost many of our long-time champions of children’s issues on both sides of the political...
Little Rock (March 22, 2016) – Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) is pleased to announce the appointment of six new members and four officers to its board of directors for the 2016-2017 term. Among the new members...
In 2013, one out of four Arkansans did not have health insurance. Arkansas faced a looming Medicaid budget shortfall, all while more than 500,000 Arkansans were without health coverage. That year, Arkansas made history by passing bipartisan legislation called the Health...
Tax cuts from the two most recent legislative sessions are making for modest forecasts and eating away at state agency budgets. The joint budget committee met today to go over the new revenue forecast as well as the accompanying...
As a result of legislation that Arkansas Advocates and the Arkansas Opportunity to Learn Campaign pushed for in 2013 (Act 1329), the state of Arkansas has since reviewed school discipline practices in schools statewide. From year to year, the...
Currently, the health care issues in the forefront are the Private Option (or newly coined Arkansas Works) program and whether we will adopt a Medicaid managed care model, which will continue to be debated by the Health Care Reform...
You may have seen a post on a friend’s Facebook page highlighting this article: “Delayed Kindergarten Enrollment Dramatically Reduces ADHD In Children, Study Shows.” My first thought after seeing the title was ‘Wow. Could this be true?’ My second...
A lack of paid family leave programs in Arkansas leaves many families, particularly low-income families, in poor physical and financial health. Achieving statewide paid family leave is a great change, but a significant one. A few baby steps toward that ultimate goal could...
Paid leave allows employees to take time off to care for a new baby or a relative with a serious illness, without losing all of their income. Paid leave helps families stay financially and physically healthy. From an economic standpoint,...
The modest $35.9 million surplus forecast for the state’s 2016 budget is an ominous sign for the governor’s highway plan (which will require at least $192 million a year in surplus to fill its funding goals in 2017 and...