Arkansas

What Are the Budget Issues Facing Arkansas?

In 2009, Arkansas faces a $107 million budget gap representing 2.4% of the general fund. In 2010, Arkansas is looking at an even greater $146 million shortfall, 3.2% of the general fund.

What the Federal Stimulus Proposal Will Mean for Children in Arkansas

The economic stimulus recently passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by the Obama Administration will provide significant investment in the health, education, and safety of America’s children over the next two years. It also provides significant support to their parents and grandparents. Highlights include:

• $730,000,000 in relief for Arkansas’s Medicaid costs. Medicaid provides health care coverage for low-income children and seniors.
• $363,100,000 in relief to the state of Arkansas to prevent cuts to programs for school-aged children.
• $137,500,000 for the Title I academic achievement of the disadvantaged program.
• $115,900,000 services to children with disabilities in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding.
• $25,100,000 for other education programs in Arkansas’s schools.
• $269,000,000 in food stamps for 389,000 Arkansas men, women, and children.
• $11,200,000 in emergency shelter grants for 3,100 households.
• 175,000 Arkansas children will benefit from the child tax credit provisions of the legislation.
• $25,133,768 in Emergency Child Care and Development Block Grant funds to provide child care to 1,940 Arkansas children.
• An increase in unemployment benefits to 184,745 Arkansas families.
• $8,200,000 in additional child support enforcement matching funds.
• $12,200,000 in youth training employment services.

How Have Arkansas’s Senators Have Voted on Important Children’s Legislation in 2009?
Blanche Lincoln (D)

Mark Pryor (D)

Sources: State Budget Information, Stimulus Information