Arkansas

Our key ally in Arkansas is Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, an organization that provides leadership, research, and advocacy to promote wide-ranging reforms that improved the lives of Arkansas children and their families. Their work includes advancing children’s health, early education, and family economic security.

State Early Childhood Policy Environment and 2021 Progress

State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s policy environment and the numerous efforts — by those listed on this page and many others — who worked both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.

Advocacy Landscape:

Policy Landscape and Progress:

$5.69B State Budget

Estimated FY2021 State General Fund Expenditures

ALIGNED GOVERNMENT
House (R), Senate (R),
Governor (R)

TWO 2021 SESSION(S)
93rd General Assembly (1/11-4/28)
93rd General Assembly 1st Special

52% LOW-INCOME CHILDREN
173,765 Young Children (0-8) are Below 200% FPL

PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN 0-8 IN LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, BY RACE

Percentage of Children 0-8 Living in Households Below 200% FPL

COVID-19 and social issues were front and center in the 2021 legislative season. Meeting restrictions imposed at the capitol during legislative sessions limited interaction with legislators, further hindering the ability of advocates to influence the legislative process and reduced the public transparency of legislative actions. (Legislative leadership, for example, did not allow virtual testimony on proposed legislation before committees).

In spite of the challenging 2021 environment, early childhood advocates across the state made progress in some key areas:

- Defeated a major private school voucher bill that would have reduced funding for public education.
- Worked to defeat the elimination of the soda tax that helps fund the state’s Medicaid trust fund.
- Worked to defeat an effort to cut unemployment benefits.
- SB 56. Child Care and Early Childhood Education Appropriations: Makes an appropriation for personal services and operating expenses for Dept. of Human Services – Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education for the fiscal year ending specified date.¹
- SB 409. Department of Education Save the Children Appropriation: Regarding Dept. of Education – Save the Children appropriation, provides grant for statewide in-school, summer, and after school literacy, nutrition, home visiting and early childhood programs.¹
- HB 1098. Requires notice to certain persons when a sex offender is on the premises of a childcare facility, concerns the presence of a sex offender on the premises of a childcare facility.¹
- HB 1728. Amends the law related to campaign finance, allows campaign funds to pay childcare expenses, amends portions of Initiated Act 1 of 1990 and Initiated Act 1 of 1996.¹

Arkansas Advocacy Snapshot:

Allies in Arkansas Are Building Advocacy Capacity in the ECE Provider Community

October 27, 2021

Early childhood advocates in Arkansas recently joined forces to empower ECE professionals to influence the use of child care funds from the federal government and to share their stories and ideas with policymakers.