More than 150,000 Arkansans are estimated to be newly food insecure since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and state policies are making it harder for families to get the nutritional support they need during this time of crisis. Our new report calls for the state to eliminate policies that make it more difficult to be hungry here […]

In our annual Finish Line report, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families looks at the status of health care coverage for Arkansas’s children and families. The report examines changes over the years and recommends actions to get Arkansas to The Finish Line: 100 percent coverage of Arkansas’s kids. Between 2017 and 2018, Arkansas slightly improved the […]

While much of 2020 has already been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are pleased to release our 2019 annual report.  What a busy year 2019 was! The 92nd General Assembly dominated between January and April, with more than 1,091 bills passed. Working with our partners and coalitions, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) […]

Find out if you are eligible for, and how to access, the Economic Impact Payment from the CARES Act. Download the PDF to access the live links.  

What Steps Still Need to be Taken? As the federal government passes emergency funding packages and changes regulations to help Americans access critical resources, Governor Hutchinson and the Arkansas legislature have also taken quick action to date in response to the crisis. AACF has analyzed the federal and state policy changes and has identified the work that […]

The President recently signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the most recent legislation designed to address the coronavirus pandemic and the associated economic recession. Download our brief analysis of the bill to learn how Arkansas will benefit.

Vote for the Change You Wish to See The November 2020 elections are crucial to the current and future well-being of Arkansas’s children and families. Arkansas voters will elect candidates to the Arkansas General Assembly, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Presidency. These policymakers will have the power to pass and influence public policies that […]

Common-sense approach to ensuring corporations pay states the taxes they’re owed can help raise state revenue without increasing taxes on everyday families.   In 2019, the Arkansas General Assembly passed legislation that required sellers outside of Arkansas to collect and pay sales taxes on all purchases made by buyers in Arkansas. This “online sales tax” […]

Arkansans kicked off Arkansas Works health insurance should reapply for coverage. In our third and final brief examining the work reporting requirements placed on Arkansas Works Medicaid enrollees, we find confusion, complications and long-lasting consequences of the now-disallowed policy. More than 18,000 low-income Arkansans lost their health insurance between September 1 and December 31, 2018, for failing to […]

by John Cook, Ph.D., M.A.Ed., Research Scientist and Principal Investigator, Children’s HealthWatch; Richard Sheward, MPP, Deputy Director of Innovative Partnerships, Children’s HealthWatch; Bruno Showers, Senior Policy Analyst, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; and Eduardo Ochoa, Jr., MD, Principal Investigator, Children’s HealthWatch. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and Children’s HealthWatch conducted a Health Impact Assessment to estimate […]