One in 5 Arkansas kids live in poverty, and it could get worse, advocates say
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Budget cuts at the federal level are likely to harm child well-being in Arkansas, making changes at the state level more necessary, advocates warn.
Why it matters: Arkansas again ranked No. 45 in a recent report on overall child well-being, and advocates worry that federal cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other programs will reverse some of the modest progress the state has made, nonprofit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF) staff told reporters.
What they're saying: "We are not making the same level of investment in basic needs and in critical programming as other states that have moved up that list," AACF executive director Keesa Smith said.
The big picture: About 21% of children lived in poverty in Arkansas in 2023, compared with 16% nationally, according to the report. That's 144,000 kids in the state.
- States that have seen their poverty rates drop have state-level earned income tax credits, child tax credits or both, AACF economic policy director Pete Gess said.
- Arkansas has neither. Rural areas also struggle to bring in gainful employment opportunities that pull people out of poverty.
Zoom out: Poverty affects many of the other areas contributing to child well-being, AACF race equity director Maricella Garcia said. And 43% of Black children live in poverty, compared with 19% of Hispanic/Latino children and 15% of non-Hispanic white children.
- She expressed concern that cutting SNAP dollars would cause grocery stores in rural areas to close, further affecting some of the most vulnerable.
How it works: The report takes into account 16 indicators, four each across four overarching categories: economic well-being, health, education, and family and community.
- Health includes indicators like obesity rates and uninsured children, for example. Education takes into account factors like fourth-graders not proficient in reading and 3- and 4-year-olds not in school.
Zoom in: Arkansas' teen birth rate has steadily declined over the past several years, but it remains nearly twice the national rate at 24 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19.
- AACF policy director Christin Harper attributed other states' more rapid declines to targeted policy efforts and said Arkansas could increase contraception access and offer age-appropriate sexual-health education in schools and communities amid cuts to Title X, which includes teen pregnancy prevention.