During the past three years Arkansas has created a task force of stakeholders, commissioned a comprehensive review of its juvenile justice system, developed a vision and set long-term goals for system change, and held regional meetings to discuss the comprehensive strategy for making changes and reforming the state’s approach to juvenile justice. These include redirecting […]

Every day Arkansas families struggle to make ends meet, and the recent economic downturn has made this challenge even more difficult. Just how much money does a family need to cover its basic needs? How much do various government supports and benefits help families to do so? This report will help to answer these questions.

In these difficult economic times, Arkansas faces major challenges in meeting the needs of vulnerable children and families. Decreasing tax revenues and growing demand for services and support require tough decisions, thoughtful approaches and the political courage to balance a range of demands on state government. This year’s release of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s […]

This report discusses how LGBT youth are disproportionately affected by the juvenile justices system and more likely to be funneled into the deep end of the system. It addresses the particular challenges that they face once there, and the lack of resources available to meet their specific needs. Most importantly, the report looks at the […]

The 2006 report After School Programs in Arkansas: A Solution Whose Time has Come outlined the positive impacts that afterschool and summer programs have by keeping children safe, supporting working families and inspiring Arkansas children to learn. New research continues to validate these findings in both local communities in Arkansas and across the country. During […]

In 2008, the national Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap (CATG) initiative was launched in Arkansas with support from the Open Society Foundation and with local support from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Arkansas Community Foundation. The goal of the initiative was to mobilize public support for expanding addiction treatment by increasing public funding, broadening insurance […]

A new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) finds that a startling number of children in the state who are eligible for ARKids First are either unenrolled or are being dropped from the program because of enrollment barriers and red tape. The report, Crossing the Finish Line: Moving Toward Covering All Kids, […]

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 original Senate bill and companion “fixes” bill continue to emerge, but child advocates should rest assured […]

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 kids get the attention they deserve and have a voice in the Arkansas Capitol when policies […]

2009 was a demanding year for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. We spent much of the year working to make us a more effective advocacy organization. We developed a new strategic plan—with new goals and priorities—to help guide and focus our work in the new decade. We worked with our partners to assess our […]