Category: Federal

Child Poverty Grows, Making Anti-Hunger Services Critical

At a time when key supports, including the country’s most effective hunger prevention programs, are at risk for children and families in Arizona, new data tells us just how critical essential services are for children in need.

According to the supplemental poverty measure, child poverty in Arizona increased from 10% (2019 – 2021) to 14% (2022 – 2024). That increase is tough enough for Arizona children, but it would have been dramatically worse if not for critical programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

A new report from the Annie E Casey Foundation, MEASURING ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY IN THE UNITED STATES: A 10-Year Update, Supplemental Poverty Measure KIDS COUNT ® Data Snapshot, shares data for policymakers, parents, and organizations and businesses to understand the challenge families are facing to ensure their children have enough to eat, to keep a roof over their head, and to meet their basic needs.

Every year, the Census Bureau issues two methods of analysis of poverty. One is the standard poverty rate, and one is the supplemental poverty measure. The supplemental poverty rate is the only method that considers geographic differences in housing costs and that shows the effects of economic policies put in place by policy makers.

REPORT FINDING: ESSENTIAL SERVICES MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR CHILDREN

↓ In 2021, with federal pandemic relief and an expanded child tax credit in place, the nation’s child poverty rate was 5% — the lowest rate on record.

↗ By 2024, child poverty nearly tripled to 13%, returning to pre-pandemic levels. This troubling increase occurred even though 61% of children in poverty lived in families with at least one working parent, underscoring that wages and supports are not keeping pace with costs

🚨 Without public services, the child poverty rate would have increased to 25% in 2024. Vital services that keep many of our nation’s children out of poverty include: tax credits, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), food assistance such as SNAP, and housing subsidies.

REPORT FINDING: MORE CHILDREN WILL LIVE IN POVERTY IF ECONOMIC POLICIES AREN’T IN PLACE TO SUPPORT THEIR BASIC NEEDS

Between 2022–2024, federal and state policies together lowered child poverty rates by 12 percentage points in Arizona. That’s a difference of 191,000 children who would otherwise live in poverty if vital economic supports were not available.

This Data is Especially Alarming as SNAP and WIC Are at Risk

It is important to understand how decisions that are being made in our nation’s capital affect us here in Arizona, including children. Already this year, Congress made steep cuts to Medicaid/AHCCCS health care services and SNAP through the budget reconciliation bill titled One Big Beautiful Bill. Now, even though a contingency reserve fund is available to fund SNAP benefits during an appropriations lapse, the executive branch is refusing to deploy these reserve funds.

As we turn a corner into November, SNAP and WIC assistance may be delayed or unavailable for parents and children who can’t afford groceries, unless the U.S. Department of Agriculture immediately deploys the contingency funds it has available or the executive branch uses its transfer authority to allocate funds to fight hunger or Congress takes action.

Failing to fund SNAP, WIC and other vital supports will add to the difficult struggles of children and families, and will force more children into poverty and hunger. Solutions and action are needed now.

On this #SNAPDayOfAction, we are facing a crucial moment to protect programs like SNAP and WIC, which make a significant difference for thousands of families and children in Arizona to access basic needs.

Read the Full Annie E Casey Data Snapshot
Resources to Help With Food or Donate

Statement: Congress Turns Its Back on Families with Harmful Budget Bill

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives provided final passage of the federal budget bill, ushering in the largest cuts to health care and food assistance in our nation’s history.

A statement from our Executive Director, January Contreras:

“Just as economic uncertainty is rising, Congress is pulling the rug out from underneath Arizona’s children and hard-working parents. There was a lack of truth-telling about the deep consequences these federal cuts will have on children, seniors, and people who work hard for low wages. But we know the truth: more people will go hungry, more people will lack the ability to see a doctor when they are ill—and this includes far too many children. Every member of Congress who voted for this bill should be ashamed of the havoc it will wreak on individual lives, our health care system, and Arizona’s economy.”

I thank each community member and leader who was a part of advocacy efforts led by Children’s Action Alliance, and who invited us to be part of theirs. Your voices and your work for Arizonans matter. In the coming months, it will be imperative for nonprofits, philanthropy, and state, local, and tribal governments to come together to stand up for children and all Arizonans when they struggle to make ends meet. As Congress turns its back on the people of Arizona, community must come together."

Our Commitment to Arizonans

Children’s Action Alliance was steadfast in advocacy against this harmful federal budget bill by:

· Convening community events and webinars with hundreds of Arizonans statewide.

· Using newspaper ads and billboards to educate the public.

· Communicating the consequences of drastic cuts to the media every step of the way.

While this devastating budget has passed, we remain committed to standing with and advocating for Arizona’s children and families.

Congress is Voting on a Budget and Your Voice is Needed

The federal budget bill is moving through Congress, bringing threats to the health and safety of children and families. This bill cuts billions from health care coverage and food assistance without acknowledging the true consequences of these cuts. This is simply going too far, too fast. 

Make your voice heard today and tomorrow.

Nutrition and health care coverage are essential basics that children and families need to thrive, yet both are at risk in the budget bill. Historic cuts to Medicaid, which is the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) in Arizona, would leave Arizonans without health care. Changes in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would make private purchase marketplace plans unaffordable for many. Assistance with buying groceries is also at risk for struggling Arizonans as massive cuts are proposed to the nation’s most effective anti-hunger program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

Key Concerns About the Budget’s Impact on Children and Families

  • More than 300,000 Arizonans will lose their health care due to Medicaid/AHCCCS cuts and loss of Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage. This will cause financial strain on Arizona’s overall health care system, and is likely to lead to higher costs for everyone and less health care providers, including rural hospitals, staying in business. 
  • For the first time ever, Congress puts the survival of SNAP at risk by shifting program costs to states like Arizona that may not allocate the state funds needed to keep the program running. Enacting severe cuts may also reduce how many people can be served. More than 900,000 Arizonans turned to SNAP at some point in 2024 to help with groceries 

The Budget Process

Soon, the U.S. Senate will vote on the budget bill. Senator Mark Kelly and Senator Ruben Gallego have clearly stated that they are voting NO because the bill will hurt Arizonans and will harm Arizona’s economy. 

However, after the Senate vote, the budget bill is likely to quickly go back to the U.S. House of Representatives for a final vote. Your member of the Arizona House of Representatives still needs to know how this bill will impact you and your community.   

Please make your voice heard today and help others do the same. It is CRITICALLY important to reach out now to Arizona’s Representatives in the U.S. House. 

What can you do?

Send an email today to your member of Congress. We’ve made it easy by connecting you directly with your congressional representative through the link below.  

Call your member of Congress. We’ve shared phone numbers below. This bill leaves millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Arizonans behind. 

  • U.S. Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121
  • Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) – 202-224-2325
  • Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) – 202-224-4521
  • Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ01) – 202-225-2190
  • Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ02) – 202-225-3361
  • Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ03) – 202-225-4065
  • Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ04) – 202-225-9888
  • Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ05) – 202-225-2635
  • Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ06) – 202-225-2542
  • Representative Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ08) – 202-225-4576
  • Representative Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ09) – 202-225-2315
Take Action

Protecting Immigrant, Citizen and Mixed Status Families

Children’s Action Alliance envisions Arizona as a state where all children and families thrive. When children live in fear, we are failing our children. 

As federal immigration enforcement operations deploy tactics that raise legal, constitutional, and moral concerns, Children’s Action Alliance encourages partners to be informed and resourced to support the well-being and safety of immigrant, citizen, and mixed-status children and families in Arizona. 

In preparation and response to federal actions, families and allies can seek and share valuable resources, including the following: 

1. The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project

2. Aliento

3. Arizona Center for Empowerment (ACE)                              

4. National Immigration Law Center (NILC)

5. Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN)

6. Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Children’s Action Alliance is committed to advocating for policies to protect children and their families. We stand opposed to unlawful and inhumane immigration enforcement operations that harm children, violate constitutional processes and protections, or erode trust and public safety in our communities. Consider the following recent reports, which raise exactly such concerns: 

We continue to urge all Arizonans to stay informed and share resources for the protection of all children and families in Arizona.

How Did Your Representative Vote on the Harmful Budget?

Early this morning, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget reconciliation bill. This bill includes significant cuts to health care that will result in eligible Arizonans losing their health insurance coverage through AHCCCS and the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. It also jeopardizes assistance with grocery bills for those in need.  

As a consequence of this harmful bill, more children, families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities will face hunger and lose access to health care.

We want to thank every Arizonan who made their voice heard during this first phase of the budget process. Your advocacy mattered - and our work is not done  

The bill will now move to the U.S. Senate, where there are members who have expressed alarm about the negative impact the House bill would have on the people they serve. Senator Mark Kelly and Senator Ruben Gallego have been clear that they oppose this bill. 

For now, we thank Representative Yassamin Ansari and Representative Greg Stanton for voting against this bill. We share disappointment that Representative Schweikert did not vote on the bill, and that Representatives Biggs, Ciscomani, Crane, Gosar, and Hamadeh supported this bill, which leaves many Arizonans behind.   

Please continue to share how this budget bill impacts you through letters to the editor of your local media, social media, and by keeping others informed. There is more work ahead!

3 Days to Stop Budget Cuts that Hurt Children

We have just THREE days to stop a budget bill that includes drastic cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and more. These cuts will cause pain for children, families, and Arizonans in every county in our state. As costs are rising, people who are struggling will be stripped of their health care and assistance with buying groceries. They also will make Arizona’s economy take a big hit, which would come just as many already feel uncertainty about our economy. 

If the U.S. House of Representatives stick to their timeline, our representatives will vote for or against this bill on May 22, 2025. This means they will be voting for or against Arizonans. Have you told your representative how these cuts will impact you or your community? If you have, now is a good time to do it again or get a friend or colleague to do so. If you haven’t, please make your voice heard today. 

What can you do?

  1. Send an email today to your Representative. We’ve made it easy by connecting you directly with your Representative at the link below. 
  2. Dial in. You can call today or tomorrow and help flood the phone lines so your member of Congress knows you care about these harmful cuts. 

Arizona Congressional Delegation

Member NameDC Phone
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ)    202-224-2325 
Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)202-224-4521 
Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ01)202-225-2190 
Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ02)  202-225-3361 
Representative Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ03)202-225-4065 
Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ04)202-225-9888 
Representative Andy Biggs (R- AZ05)202-225-2635 
Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ06)202-225-2542 
Representative Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ08)202-225-4576 
Representative Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ09)202-225-2315   
Take Action

Thank you for caring about all Arizonans and taking action today!

Head Start Turns 60: Honoring Its Legacy and Fighting for Its Future

On Sunday, May 18th, Head Start celebrates 60 years as a federal early care and education program serving over 800,000 young children across the nation, 17,000 of whom are in Arizona.

The Arizona Head Start Association and Children’s Action Alliance held a presentation and panel discussion in Eloy, Arizona, on Monday, May 12th, on what the dismantling of Head Start means to our rural communities. We thank our partner panelists, Joe Barba, Lori Masseur, and Charity Russell, for their expertise and engaging discussion, and our two amazing parents, Belinda Sherwood and Maricela Guillen, who joined to share their impactful stories.   

We were also thrilled with our special guests, including staff members from U.S. Senators Kelly and Gallego’s offices, Eloy City Councilmember JoAnne Galindo, and Congressman Juan Ciscomani. Congressman Ciscomani offered closing remarks where he reaffirmed his strong support for Head Start and knows that early care and education matters. Congressman Ciscomani stated he would expand access for Head Start across Arizona, not cut funding.   

Head Start isn’t just a program—it’s a lifeline. Cutting it in rural Arizona would leave families stranded in areas with limited access to child care and health support services:  

  • Head Start plays an outsized role in the rural child care landscape, existing in 86% of rural counties  
  • Approximately 46% of all funded Head Start slots are in rural congressional districts  
  • Without Head Start, many rural communities would have no licensed child care centers  

As we celebrate six decades of this vital program, we must continue to raise public awareness, amplify local voices, and build momentum to protect access to all early care and education programs.

Your Voice is Needed Now to Prevent Child Hunger

If our members of Congress cut SNAP, they will increase child hunger. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, America’s largest anti-hunger program.

Despite the real pain this will inflict on children, seniors, and families, Congress is marching towards $230 billion in cuts – the largest reduction in history – that will force more people in Arizona to go hungry. In 2024, 923,400 Arizonans turned to this program to help them buy groceries and feed themselves and their families.

Right now and over the next several days, Congress is drafting legislation behind closed doors that will determine the future of this anti-hunger program.

Making Life Harder for Parents of School-Aged Children

One proposal is to increase the already stringent eligibility requirements around the program, which are costly to administer, and make it harder for families to keep up with complicated reporting requirements. For example, Arizona already has work requirements in place, but Congress is looking at new work requirements, including for families with school-aged children. In Arizona, about 32 percent of families with children are at risk of losing food assistance. This is a policy that will hurt struggling families and leave more children hungry. We urge Congress to exempt families with school-aged children from any work requirement proposal they may pursue.

Shifting Financial Responsibility to States With Empty Coffers

Another proposal they are considering is to drastically reduce federal investment, with an assumption that state budgets will fill the gap. We know in Arizona that our fiscal picture is unlikely to have ample state funds to make up the difference. This means more people will go hungry.

We urge our members of Congress to prevent massive cuts to SNAP because in this time of economic uncertainty and rising costs, their decision will result in a significant increase in hunger for Arizonans, including far too many children. 

Please join us in making your voice heard today with your member of Congress.

Take Action

Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP Will Cut Jobs 

In February of 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that requires devastating Medicaid cuts and cuts to the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP). Such cuts would cut off hundreds of thousands of Arizonans from vital services and would impact Arizona’s overall economy. Especially at this time when families are already struggling to afford a roof over their heads and a trip to the grocery store, our federal lawmakers should protect, not cut essential health services or cause loss of jobs in our state.

A new report from Commonwealth Fund quantifies the job loss consequences that will come with proposed cuts to Medicaid/AHCCCS coverage and SNAP.  

Congress can still avoid the cuts they’ve proposed, but if they go through with it, it is estimated that the Medicaid cuts will lead to a loss of 24,100 jobs, and cuts to SNAP would lead to a loss of 2,400 jobs in Arizona. These estimated losses are for 2026.

When considering cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, we first think of the children, families, seniors, and individuals who will lose their lifeline to health care or food assistance. Beyond that, it is also important to think of the impact that this hit to essential services would have on working people in Arizona and our overall economy. 

Source: Leighton Ku et al., How Potential Federal Cuts to Medicaid and SNAP Could Trigger the Loss of a Million-Plus Jobs, Reduced Economic Activity, and Less State Revenue (Commonwealth Fund, Mar. 2025). https://doi.org/10.26099/x2q9-7027