Nearly 103,000 Arizona kids lost AHCCCS, but KidsCare expansion brings hope.
Since the end of the public health emergency a year ago, 103,000 fewer Arizona children are enrolled in AHCCCS coverage with the return to regular renewal requirements, according to a new report from Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. AHCCCS and its companion KidsCare provide child-specific…
Arizona Preschoolers Are at Risk of Being Left Behind
Last Thursday, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released its annual State of Preschool Report. The report is a state-by-state comparison of preschool program funding, access, and best practice policies. This year’s report notes that preschool programs are at a critical juncture….
SB 1458: Because Children Thrive in Families, Not Institutions
Arizona places young foster children in group homes and institutions at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. We must change that – and we can with SB1458. Congregate care placements have detrimental effects on the healthy development of children, especially young children. Experts...
English language learners deserve equitable education opportunities
Children’s Action Alliance joined other partners of UnidosUS, a leading organization dedicated to uplifting the Latino community and fostering equitable educational opportunities, to urge Superintendent Horne not to restrict dual language instruction for English Language Learners (ELLs). In the support…
Oral Health Day at the Capitol 2024
This month, CAA joined the Arizona Oral Health Coalition at the Capitol with the message to lawmakers that children and families cannot be healthy without good oral health. We asked legislators to prioritize comprehensive dental care for adults in AHCCCS in the budget they will be negotiating with the…
Equity in Early Childhood Education: Arizona's Call to Action
This past week, Southern Arizona advocates gathered in Tucson to discuss how to make our early care and education (ECE) systems more equitable. Children’s Action Alliance partnered with Child and Family Resources and United Way of Southern Arizona to highlight ASU Children’s Equity Project’s landmark…
ICYMI: 10,000 MORE Children are KidsCare Eligible!
ICYMI: KidsCare, Arizona’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, is expanding eligibility. By increasing family income limits that qualify for KidsCare, more children can access affordable health care. The expansion was originally approved by the Governor and state legislature with bipartisan...
Our Priority: Child Care Funding Gets a Hearing
This morning, a House Appropriations Subcommittee listened to early childhood advocates discuss the urgent need for state investment in child care. Arizona faces a child care crisis due to a prolonged lack of investment, compounded by the expiration of federal funds that stabilized the system during…
Support SB 1458 to ensure young foster children are placed with families, not group homes.
Children thrive in families, not institutions. This is especially true for foster children who have experienced trauma. Research provides “strong and conclusive causal evidence that children exposed to early deprivation benefit from high-quality family-based care, and, more broadly, that the nature...