Arkansas’s Transition to Employment Assistance (TEA) program is a safety net for children and families in poverty. TEA provides short-term cash assistance to families in financial crisis, with the long-term goal of moving them from poverty and dependence to economic self-sufficiency. Unfortunately, Arkansas’s poverty rate has only risen since the TEA program was created, with 25 percent of all Arkansas children still below the federal poverty line in 2008. The current economic crisis is likely to push even more families below this level, making TEA an even more critical lifeline for Arkansas children and families.