Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

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New report urges legislative action to provide SNAP benefits to Arkansas’ Marshallese community

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KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

A report released Thursday advocates for extending Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to the thousands of Marshallese migrants who lawfully reside in Arkansas and struggle with food insecurity.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families worked with the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese for more than a year on the report, which recommends granting Marshallese migrants SNAP eligibility through one of three pieces of legislation currently under consideration by Congress, such as the Compacts of Free Association.

After testing nearly 70 nuclear bombs in the 1940s and 1950s that contaminated the Marshall Islands with radiation, the United States signed Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. The compacts allow the U.S. to operate military bases in the Freely Associated States, while FAS citizens may live and work in the U.S. and its territories as lawful non-immigrants.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-09-01/new-report-urges-legislative-action-to-provide-snap-benefits-to-arkansas-marshallese-community

Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Northwest Arkansas Director Laura Kellams (left) looks on as Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese CEO Melisa Laelan (right) discusses a new report advocating for extending SNAP benefits to the Marshallese community. The two nonprofits released the report Aug. 31, 2023, during an event at The Jones Center in Springdale.

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AACF report: Policies should seek health equity for Black women

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by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Black women in Arkansas face health challenges as a result of a history of discrimination and unconscious bias, so health policies should intentionally and aggressively seek to create health equity, a report by the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families argues.

The report, “The Critical State of Black Women’s Health,” was written by CaSandra Glover, health policy fellow, and released Tuesday (April 12).

The study says that Black women have higher excess mortality and shorter life expectancies, and they disproportionately suffer from chronic health conditions. They also receive less effective medical treatment.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/04/aacf-report-policies-should-seek-health-equity-for-black-women/

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Rich Huddleston to leave Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families at year-end

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by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

Longtime Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) executive director Rich Huddleston will leave his post at the end of 2022, the organization announced Monday (March 14).

Huddleston said he did not know what his next role would be, but he thought the child advocacy group would benefit from new leadership after his 18 years in charge and 27 years with the organization.

AACF 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. The organization provides leadership, research and advocacy to promote wide-ranging reforms to improve the lives of Arkansas’s children.

https://talkbusiness.net/2022/03/rich-huddleston-to-leave-arkansas-advocates-for-children-and-families-at-year-end/

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Report Finds State Policies Make It Harder to Help Food Insecure Arkansans

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According to a new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, more than 150,000 Arkansans are estimated to be newly food insecure since the COVID-19 pandemic began and state policies are making it more difficult for families to access nutritional support from programs like SNAP during the crisis.

https://www.kuaf.com/post/report-finds-state-policies-make-it-harder-help-food-insecure-arkansans

Report Finds State Policies Make It Harder to Help Food Insecure Arkansans

According to a new report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, more than 150,000 Arkansans are estimated to be newly food insecure since the COVID-19 pandemic began and state policies are making it more difficult for families to access nutritional support from programs like SNAP during the crisis.

Report: Arkansas Food Insecure Numbers Rising; Policy Changes Needed

A new report says the number of food-insecure Arkansas children and adults is rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, more Arkansans are receiving federal nutrition benefits, and the state should make policy changes such as removing the asset limit for eligibility.