Arkansas is a hardworking state. In fact, we have over a million employees who work here. That number has been growing recently, as our unemployment figures hit record lows. That is a positive and welcome change for working families in our state because it means jobs are easier to come by and wages are going […]

The Arkansas legislature has repeatedly reduced the amount of unemployment insurance available to Arkansas workers, lowering both the duration of coverage and the dollar amount of benefits. This puts us well below national averages for unemployment benefits, and puts families and our economy at risk. This might not seem like a big problem given our current […]

The health care system has improved dramatically over the past 20 years in Arkansas. Today, 95 percent of children have health coverage, and we’ve lessened the coverage gap resulting from differences in household income. Also, the state has made strides in recent years to reward the provision of high-quality preventive care through the patient-centered medical […]

Policymakers, parents, and school administrators all want to ensure that students are taught by the best possible teachers, and for good reason. Research has shown that teacher quality is one of the best indicators of student achievement (Kini and Podolsky, 2016). While everyone can agree on the importance of ensuring that students are taught by […]

The U.S. Senate’s health care bill would be devastating to rural Arkansas – not just to the health of its citizens but to its economy, as well. Research on the House-passed Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement showed that it could result in 42 percent of Arkansas Medicaid enrollees younger than 65 being dropped from coverage. […]

Our latest brief in a series of reports on child poverty in the state focuses on the prevalence of child poverty in the Northeastern corner of Arkansas. While Jonesboro is typically thought of as the economic hub of Northeast Arkansas, the labor market area for the region is made up of 11 counties: Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, […]

Each legislative session brings its own bag of mixed goods, and the Regular Session of the 91st General Assembly was no different. While we were concerned about the constant push for legislation that punishes poor people, there were definitely some wins for families this year. The session began with an aggressive push by Governor Asa […]

In partnership with the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, today we’re releasing a new policy brief on the importance of talking, reading, and singing with children from birth. More than half of Arkansas children start kindergarten unprepared, lagging behind their peers in critical language, math, and social-emotional skills. Research shows that simple, […]

It’s not just about coverage for adults. As Congress continues the debate about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and a replacement plan, a lot hangs in the balance for children, too. According to the Urban Institute, repealing the ACA will double the number of uninsured kids. In Arkansas, this means that at least 34,000 kids would […]

What a year 2016 was for AACF! We had not one, but three legislative sessions during the first half of 2016, including the regular fiscal session and two special sessions on health care reform and funding for highways and roads. AACF staff worked diligently to ensure the voices of all children and families were heard […]