Arkansas serves nearly 56,000 students through special education programs. The state constitution guarantees every child access to the advantages and opportunities of free, public education. It also charges the legislature with adopting all suitable means to make it happen. This means that the state and its school districts have a responsibility to meet the needs of every student — including those with […]
States should think twice before enacting big personal income tax cuts. Despite the claims of tax-cut proponents, low tax rates aren’t associated with economic prosperity, and are more likely to lead to budget problems. Most major studies over the past 15 years have shown that personal income tax cuts don’t cause economic growth. If someone […]
Every year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation releases the Kids Count Data Book, a comprehensive, 50-state look at child welfare. This year, Arkansas made gains in economic well-being, but we lost ground in health, becoming one of the bottom five states in that category. What would it take for Arkansas to climb all the way up […]
In a special session beginning later this week, Gov. Hutchinson and Arkansas lawmakers will make decisions on how to fund Arkansas’s highways, many of which are in dire need of repairs. Gov. Hutchinson’s proposal for highway funding works in the short term but creates major budget issues over the long term. In the first year, […]
This November, elections are critical to the well-being of Arkansas’s children and families and to the future of this great state. Arkansas voters will help decide which candidates win a number of important public offices, including the U.S. Presidency, a U.S. Senate seat, and House and Senate seats in the Arkansas General Assembly. The winners […]
Nearly half of Arkansas single moms live in poverty. The best way to make sure that moms and their kids have bright financial futures is to start making smart policy decisions. This Mother’s Day, let’s give moms a gift that will last, like health insurance, maternity leave, after-school and summer programs, quality pre-K and tax […]
For the first time in our country’s history, 95 percent of children have the health care coverage they need to be healthy and thrive, according to a new report by the Urban Institute and funded by the Packard Foundation. As impressive, 97 percent of children ages 0 to 5 have access to health coverage, which […]
This May the Fourth, awaken the force … of QUALITY PRE-K. Our little Wookiees’ earliest experiences form the foundation for all of their future learning. In quality pre-K classrooms, they learn to regulate emotions along with their ABC’s, leading them to success in Kindergarten and beyond. From Kindergarten readiness to coding careers to space travel, […]
Quality pre-K matters. It matters most to the children who start off with their backpacks full of knowledge — they are familiar with school routines, they understand the importance of using words rather than fists when there is conflict over crayons, and they are beginning to recognize numbers and sound out words. They are Kindergarten-ready. Quality pre-K also matters to […]
More than 5 million children in the United States (7 percent of the total child population) have had a parent incarcerated at some point in their lives, including an estimated 61,000 in Arkansas, announced Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) and the Annie E. Casey Foundation today. In its latest KIDS COUNT® policy report, […]