Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
Description
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families' mission is to ensure that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities they need to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families was founded in 1977 by a group of prominent Arkansans who believed that children needed an "independent force to provide information and education to parents and citizens about our state's policies toward children and families."
For more than 30 years, AACF has provided leadership, research and advocacy to promote wide-ranging reforms that have improved the lives of Arkansas children, and we have never been afraid to lead the way when the need arose. Our work includes:
Protecting Children. Through the years, AACF has played a major role in challenging Arkansas's juvenile justice and child welfare systems to perform better. In 1983, our research into juvenile court hearings led to a major overhaul of the state's juvenile justice system. Today we are part of several coalitions working on long-range reforms in both systems.
Improving Children's Health. We led the effort to create ARKids First, which provides children's health insurance to working families. Since 1997, the rate of uninsured children in Arkansas has fallen from 21 percent to 9 percent. Now we're driving the state to cross the finish line to covering all kids by enrolling all eligible children and extending more options to families who can't afford private insurance.
Fighting for Early Education and Out-of-School Opportunities. We have been a leader in the fight to make quality preschool available to at-risk 3- and 4-year-olds in the state. Beginning in 2003, AACF and others convinced the legislature to expand annual funding for pre-k by $100 million. As a result, the state can serve every at-risk 3- and 4-year-old. Now we're working expanding pre-k to more low-income children and we're leading a coalition fighting for high-quality afterschool and summer programs for children of all ages throughout the state.
Promoting Economic Security. AACF is a champion for the economic well-being of Arkansas families. We have led efforts to make our tax and budget system more balanced, including recent victories of exempting most low-income families from the state income tax and closing down predatory payday lenders. Now we're working on securing a state earned income tax credit to help balance our regressive tax system.
AACF will continue being a voice for Arkansas kids when it comes to these issues and others. Only when improvements are made in these areas can Arkansas's children truly realize their full potential. And until that day arrives, AACF will continue fighting on their behalf.
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RECENT FACEBOOK POSTS
facebook.comBoth Soup Sunday events are coming up fast! #LRSoupSunday is Jan. 28, and #NWASoupSunday is March 4. Join us for these super-fun events you'll help us make Arkansas a better place for kids to live today, tomorrow, and for years to come. Tickets are only $25 in advance and available here! --> http://bit.ly/1EkIoWw
Are you or someone you know interested in tackling domestic policy challenges in areas like health care, taxes, anti-poverty policy, education, and criminal justice? You could become a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities State Policy Fellow. Applications are now being accepted! Read more and learn how to apply here:
"When it comes to income taxes, it is important to put everything in context. Income taxes are just one element of the tax code, so just looking at individual rates can be extremely misleading." Our latest blog post, written by Senior Policy Analyst Ellie Wheeler, takes a closer look at Arkansas's Income Tax and how those taxes fit into the tax code as a whole.
It’s been 100+ days since Congress let CHIP funding expire, risking the health of Arkansas children. We are out of time—Congress needs to pass a long-term funding extension to #saveCHIP for the 9 million children who depend on it. http://bit.ly/2CV16sf
Decades of research show the first few years of life, including the prenatal months, are the most important for healthy brain development and success in school. Unfortunately, too many of our kids aren’t getting the boost they need during the infant and toddler years. In a new report written in collaboration with Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, we identify what infants and toddlers need to prepare them for school. Plus, we outline policy recommendations that prioritize programs that support families with infants and toddlers. -->
Join us, Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas at 10:30 a.m. TOMORROW Jan 9, at the Food Bank of Northeast AR, for a #SNAPMATTERS advocacy event. You'll learn about the Farm Bill/SNAP, what cuts would mean to AR families, our food pantries, and our communities + how to take action and help #PreserveSNAP. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. lunch/Q&A. RSVP: Mcollins@arhungeralliance.org.
Both Soup Sunday events are coming up fast! #LRSoupSunday is Jan. 28, and #NWASoupSunday is March 4. Join us for these super-fun events you'll help us make Arkansas a better place for kids to live today, tomorrow, and for years to come. Tickets are only $25 in advance and available here! --> http://bit.ly/1EkIoWw Tamika Silverman Edwards Marquita Little Kerri Michael Sernel
Our latest brief analyzes proposed changes to Arkansas Works and the troublesome impact they will have on Arkansans, our state budget, and our health care system. Plus, we offer some suggestions to ensure the roll-out of these changes causes minimum health coverage disruptions -->
Come one, come all to Soup Sunday 2018! Grab your muffin tins and join us in Little Rock on Jan. 28 and in NWA on March 4. Tickets are on sale now! --> http://bit.ly/1EkIoWw
Are you or someone you know interested in tackling domestic policy challenges in areas like health care, taxes, anti-poverty policy, education, and criminal justice? You could become a Center on Budget and Policy Priorities State Policy Fellow. Applications are now being accepted! Read more and learn how to apply here:
Our latest brief analyzes proposed changes to Arkansas Works and the troublesome impact they will have on Arkansans, our state budget, and our health care system. Watch this short video to see how expanded Medicaid coverage has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Arkansans, like Greene County farmer Mike Potter. http://bit.ly/2lXSxDl
Tune in TODAY at 5 p.m. for #SpeakUpArkansas on KABF 88.3FM! We'll be previewing an upcoming report, written in collaboration with Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, on what infants and toddlers need to become school ready. Speakers will include Dr. Ginny Hudson Blankenship of AACF; Dr. Kathy Pillow Price of the Arkansas Home Visiting Network; Dr. Nikki Edge of UAMS - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Association for Infant Mental Health; and Jackie Govan of the Arkansas Head Start State Collaboration Office. http://bit.ly/2CuhYWz
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