Family advocates are at the State Capital for a "Day on the Hill" rally today, to voice their concerns to lawmakers about issues affecting Arkansans' quality of life.

The Arkansas Coalition for Strong Families and other organizations would like to see more investments in programs such as preschool, disability services and affordable housing.

Syard Evans, CEO of the Arkansas Support Network and co-chair of the coalition, said it wants to raise awareness and ensure marginalized communities have a voice in state budgeting.

"It's to make sure that when our legislative body convenes and they engage in the work of decision-making around the finances of the state and the budget of the state, we want to make sure that everyday Arkansans need investments in the services and supports," Evans explained.

She pointed out data show in order to be a healthy, functional family, the annual cost of living for a two-parent family with two children in Arkansas should be a little more than $90,000. It represents what it costs to meet basic needs of housing, food and clothing. However, the median household income in Arkansas is about $56,335.

Evans explained members of the coalition are witnesses to the deficiencies in underfunded service systems and she contended the latest appropriation does not adequately fund state services.

"The governor recently announced her draft budget and was very proud of the fact that the budget really has a tiny, tiny increase in it, like a 1.7% increase, which doesn't keep up with inflation," Evans stressed.

Evans noted the coalition works on mental health care, education, disability rights, racial equity, family economic well-being and more. She added they teamed up with the nonprofit child advocacy organization Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families for the Day on the Hill.


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With the end of the state legislative session in sight, Connecticut lawmakers are moving closer to establishing a permanent child tax credit.

The 2025 legislative session has seen several child tax credit bills circulate, offering differing levels of rebate. The current proposal has moved out of committee as part of the state budget bill and would establish a $150 per child credit, capped at $450.

Lisa Tepper Bates, president and CEO of the United Way of Connecticut, said her organization has been advocating for a state child tax credit, which she noted has widespread support.

"We've gained some ground on creating a child tax credit at the state level," Tepper Bates pointed out. "There is legislation with the support of an enormous number of the members of the House of Representatives and supporters in the state Senate who want to see this done and they want to see it done this legislative session."

The credit would be available for single filers making up to $100,000 per year, $160,000 for heads of household, and $200,000 for joint filers.

Data published by United Way show nearly 40% of Connecticut households are living paycheck to paycheck. Among those are households considered as ALICE, an acronym for those who are Asset Limited and Income Constrained but Employed. Categorizing households in this way attempts to capture the financial circumstances of working people who are above the poverty level but still cannot afford the basics such as housing, food, health care and child care.

Tepper Bates noted while rents are high in the state, in many households it is not the biggest financial burden.

"Our ALICE research shows that child care for families with small children can be their single biggest cost center," Tepper Bates reported. "This is an important point to understand because we now know that in Connecticut, the cost of child care for many of these families is becoming simply unsustainable."

The scarce availability of child care is pushing costs higher, with recent data showing 80% of the state's licensed family child care centers are operating at capacity, a 6% increase over the year prior.


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A North Dakota task force raising awareness about child sexual abuse is close to wrapping up its work and its leader said she hopes more communities use every tool to ensure kids are raised in a safe environment.

By state law, the task force is scheduled to dissolve on June 30.

Lindsey Burkhardt, director of the task force, said a key accomplishment was creating a pair of guides, one for families and another for schools and youth service groups, which lay out the best prevention practices and resources to turn to.

Burkhardt acknowledged they are still fighting misconceptions, like the idea children are most often abused by strangers, and stressed it is why the conversations are important.

"What are protective strategies that we can teach our children to help empower them to help keep them safe?" Burkhardt asked.

Burkhardt noted evidence of misconceptions surfaced in a pilot project in Richland County. Among those surveyed, 25% of residents said they did not believe child sexual abuse happened within the county. At the end of the project, the number improved to 20% but Burkhardt argued it highlights the need for further community education.

Burkhardt emphasized there is a strong body of research showing a child who is sexually abused is at risk of mental health disorders and survivors are likely to experience a range of conditions and behaviors affecting their quality of life.

"Depression, chronic anxiety, PTSD, along with relationship and attachment issues," Burkhardt outlined.

Burkhardt added it is hard to fully measure the task force's effect but pointed to adoption of their prevention guides as a way to show their work connected with some audiences. It included requests from the North Dakota court system to use them when training parent investigators.


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The California Parent and Youth Helpline turns five years old today - just in time for a brand new study that confirms its effectiveness.

The study, published in the Journal of Technology in Human Services, found that 85% of people felt more positive, calmer and less angry after calling in.

Lead author Elizabeth Harris, a sociology professor at Arizona State University, said that kind of result is rare in social science research.

"Parenting interventions are expensive and difficult to do," she said. "Most interventions take months to take effect, so to be able to do an effective intervention in 30 minutes, that's a big deal."

The data also show about one-third of callers improved significantly on the scale - meaning they either went from making all negative statements to feeling 100% neutral, or they started off neutral and said they felt "100% positive" by the end of the call.

Parents and youths in distress can reach a trained counselor at 855-427-2736, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Or they can reach out online at CAparentyouthhelpline.org.

Harris said the data show the helpline is especially effective at making people feel heard.

"Fifty percent of people who are lonely and isolated in their parenting role, they feel less of that by the end of the call," she said. "So, it shows that in less than 30 minutes, it's possible for a trained counselor to make a measurable difference."

She explained that the research used what's called sentiment analysis and secondary qualitative analysis, and validates the approach taken by Parents Anonymous, the group that runs the helpline.