Arkansas ranks high in a national pre-K study but the state is falling behind in enrollment and equal access for poor students. Education Week’s annual “Quality Counts” report explores the complex landscape that defines early-childhood services in the U.S....
Over the past five years, we’ve heard lots of discussion about the Common Core State Standards. There is even some confusion about what the standards are, who made the standards, and what they do for students. So, it’s important...
The Private Option has been a huge success, providing Arkansans with affordable health coverage. The 2015 Legislative session starts next week, and lawmakers will decide whether or not to continue a program that has helped so many Arkansans get...
In 2013, one out of four Arkansans did not have health insurance. Thousands of low-income Arkansans made too much money to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to receive financial help in the health insurance Marketplace (through tax subsidies). Arkansas faced...
2014 was a year of progress that led to renewed efforts to inform lawmakers, engage parents, and connect with communities and their leaders about education in Arkansas. As always, AACF worked hard to improve access to high-quality education for all...
Our latest report, Creating a Prosperous Future, goes into more depth on each of these points. But for now, here are the five things you need to know about poverty in Arkansas. Poverty is defined by the federal poverty...
Imagine you’re exhausted. You’ve worked for the past 20 hours straight, your son has a cold that has gotten worse over the last week and your daycare won’t let him come back until he’s fever-free. You have to take...
A new federal grant will provide $15 million each of the next four years for Arkansas Better Chance (ABC), the state’s high-quality pre-K program. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) and the Invest Early Coalition are grateful for...
There are millions of workers each year who are cheated out of hard-earned money by fraudulent employers. This practice is called wage theft. Employers are guilty of wage theft when they do not pay at least the minimum wage,...
Thinking about taxes seems complicated; but in its basic form, taxes raise the money we need to pay for and upkeep the services we depend upon daily. On the state level, we use these dollars to fund our schools,...