Thank You For Your Support. Please Don't Give Up.

posted by Laura
7:22 PM on Thursday, November 13, 2008

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posted by Laura
12:37 PM on Friday, October 31, 2008

Yesterday, the Secretary of State announced the results from the Statewide Student Mock Election. Student voters narrowly defeated Initiated Act 1:

For Proposed Initiative Act 1 Votes: 11,585
Against Proposed Initiative Act 1 Votes: 12,563

The DHS Youth Advisory Board also voted on Initiated Act 1 at their last meeting. All 15 members present voted against Act 1. Watch the video below.



Remember to go all the way your ballot to vote NO on Act 1. Please remind your friends. 1 comments

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Arkansas Poll Results

posted by Laura
1:22 PM on Friday, October 24, 2008

The Arkansas Poll from the University of Arkansas was released yesterday. The results show that 55% of the over 1,600 Arkansans polled oppose Initiated Act 1.

As our main consultant Debbie Willhite told reporters yesterday,

Results show the common sense of Arkansans coming through....this proposal clearly limits the homes available to Arkansas children in need. [Full Story]

Together, we can defeat Act 1, but we all need to continue to tell everyone and anyone to vote NO on Act 1!

While encouraging, this poll is not a final vote count. It also shows that a substantial number of Arkansans are still undecided on this issue. If you want to help out before or on election day, please contact us!

Read more after the break for the full Arkansas Poll press release.



THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2008

Arkansas Poll: In Arkansas ‘It’s the Economy’ and It Is Also McCain

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In response to the 10th annual Arkansas Poll, a strong majority of Arkansans ranked the economy as the most important problem facing Arkansas. Although this finding lines up with national polling results – results that appear to give Sen. Barack Obama the edge in the presidential race – voters in Arkansas prefer Sen. John McCain to Obama, 49 percent to 36 percent.
“While the economic slowdown is serving as an engine of sorts for the Obama campaign nationally, Arkansas voters – even Democrats – do not conform to this pattern,” said Janine Parry, the poll’s director and a professor of political science at the University of Arkansas.
In the recent past, election results in Arkansas have paralleled voting in most Southern states, as well as in swing Midwestern states with many rural white voters. This year, the poll collected twice as many responses as usual, allowing researchers to examine results for each of the state’s four congressional districts and yielding regionally based information particularly useful in predicting swing state voter behavior.

Most Important Problem
In response to a closed-ended question – “Which of the following do you think is the most important problem or issue facing people in Arkansas today?” – an unprecedented majority of Arkansans named the economy. Economic issues topped last year’s open-ended question as well with 29 percent of respondents selecting it over education and healthcare.
“While the economy has been named the most serious issue in most previous Arkansas Polls, this year, 56 percent of respondents named it the most important problem facing Arkansas,” Parry said. “In our 10 years of polling, no issue has ever been ranked that high. Previously, the highest percentage we had found was in 2005 when 31 percent viewed the economy as the main issue.”

The Election
The economy is a pressing issue for both McCain and Obama supporters. Fifty-four percent of respondents favoring McCain and 61 percent of Obama supporters selected the economy from among six issues presented. A similar modest gap was evident on the second most pressing issue: health care. Eighteen percent of Obama supporters placed health care as their first priority as compared with 11 percent of McCain’s supporters. Roughly one in 10 respondents of either camp cited education.
“While the magnitude of people’s economic concerns is unusual, there’s actually a lot of consistency here,” Parry said. “Not only do the bread and butter trio of the economy, health care, and education remain foremost in people’s minds as in years’ past, but they hold true – in the same order – for Arkansas Republicans and Democrats.”
When voter preferences for president are narrowed to registered voters only, support for McCain rises to 51 percent while remaining at 36 percent for Obama. By congressional district, support for Obama varies between 35 and 38 percent. The 4th Congressional District in southern Arkansas shows the strongest support for McCain at 53 percent, while 46 percent of voters support McCain in the 1st Congressional District in northeast Arkansas.
Among those who identify themselves as Republicans, 90 percent support McCain. Obama is supported by 67 percent of Democrats, with 16 percent of Democrats not reporting whom they plan to support. In comparison, exit polls in the 2004 presidential election showed that 82 percent of Democrats supported John Kerry. Independents, who are nearly a third of the Arkansas electorate, are breaking for McCain, 53 to 30 percent.
“The comparatively low enthusiasm among Arkansas Democrats for Obama’s candidacy is probably a consequence of several factors,” said Pearl Ford, Parry’s colleague in political science and a collaborator on this year’s poll. “The fact that Clinton earned her strongest support here has to play a significant role. Many rural white voters in particular seem to be having a hard time connecting with Obama. That’s certainly working to McCain’s advantage.”
Another factor, Ford noted, was the late arrival of the Obama campaign in Arkansas.
“The first campaign office opened only last month, and Obama has never visited the state. As a result there was limited opportunity for voters to become familiar with Obama or for the campaign to develop a strong ground organization, which has been critical in swing states and red states that we may see turn blue,” Ford said.
Hillary Clinton had a strong base of support in Arkansas, with 54 percent reporting they would have voted for her for president. Of those voters, 57 percent are backing Obama, with 26 percent going for McCain. That leaves 17 percent who are still undecided or declined to specify.
This year the poll included a series of questions about race relations as part of a research project conducted by Ford. She asked several standard polling questions related to opinions about opportunities and hurdles for Black people in the United States.
“The results will be used to further understand voter attitudes toward Obama, the first African American candidate to run as the nominee of a major party, and to gauge the potential for African American politicians to run successful campaigns for local and state offices in the future,” Ford said.
Ratings for the state’s national senators and representatives remained positive and stable, while Gov. Beebe’s approval rating climbed to 74 percent, a record in 10 years of statewide polling. In line with national ratings, President Bush’s approval rating was 27 percent, “which is noteworthy for a state that cast its electoral votes for Bush in both 2000 and 2004,” Parry said.

Issues
When asked whether they favored or opposed Arkansas Proposed Initiative Act 1, which would prevent anyone who cohabitates outside a valid marriage from adopting or fostering a child, 55 percent opposed the initiative. Some proponents have advocated for Act 1 to prevent adoption and foster parenting by gays and lesbians, and the 2007 Arkansas Poll had revealed that 53 percent of Arkansans supported prohibiting adoption and fostering by gays and lesbians. Even so, when it comes to voting for Act 1, Arkansans appear to be rejecting a blanket prohibition.
“Personal feelings about an issue can be different from policy preferences,” Parry said. “After looking at this issue for several years, it seems to me that many Arkansans – both liberals and conservatives – are uncomfortable dictating the family arrangements of others, whether they agree with them or not.”
Parry said that the results of previous Arkansas polls suggested that while Arkansans oppose casino gambling, a lottery – especially one connected to funding for education – would fare well. Bearing this out, 65 percent of those polled favored the proposed lottery amendment.

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Arkansas Clergy and National Child Advocates Oppose Act 1

posted by Laura
11:16 AM on Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Yesterday, a group of Arkansas faith leaders released a statement against Act 1. Clergy from multiple denominations and across the state announce their opposition to Act 1 with this press release. Read the AP story here or the full text below the break.

Today, Voices for America's Children, a national, non-partisan, non-profit advocacy group, released a statement in conjunction with Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families that strongly urges Arkansans to vote NO on Act 1. Download the PDF here or read the full text below the break.

ARKANSAS FAITH LEADERS OPPOSING INITIATED ACT 1

The teachings of the major faith communities in Arkansas hold a deep concern for the protection of the vulnerable in our society. Children are often the most vulnerable members of our society. Our faith teachings call us to be concerned about the well being of our children.

Based on this concern, we, as members of the faith community in Arkansas, publically oppose Initiated Act 1 on this November’s general election ballot. We must do everything we can to protect children, and Act 1 simply places thousands of Arkansas children at risk.

The Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act needlessly restricts qualified adults from serving as foster parents and further reduces the number of homes available for public and private adoption. By taking away rational decision making from judges and child welfare experts, we eliminate case-by-case study for the best situation for children.

We are called by our faith teachings to protect children. Act 1 puts our children at risk. We encourage all Arkansans to vote NO on Act 1.

Rt. Rev. Larry Benfield, Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Little Rock
The Right Rev. Larry E. Maze, Retired Episcopal Bishop of Arkansas
Rev. Michael Mattox, United Methodist, Little Rock
Rev. Betsy Singleton, United Methodist, Little Rock
Rev. Carolyn Staley, Baptist, Little Rock
Dr. Randy Hyde, Baptist, Little Rock
Rabbi Eugene H. Levy, Jewish, Little Rock
Rev. Wendell Griffen, National Baptist, Little Rock
Rev. Sam Loudenslager, Episcopal Deacon, Bigelow
Rev. Betty Grace McCollum, Unitarian-Universalist Association, Emerson
Rev. Bindy Wright Synder, Episcopal, Osceola
Rev. Ed Matthews, United Methodist, Little Rock
Rev. Lowell Grisham, Episcopal, Fayetteville
Rev. Kendal Land, Presbyterian Church (USA), Arkadelphia
Rev. Joy Prater, Episcopal Deacon, Harrison
Rev. Donna Rountree, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Conway
Rev. Bob Klein, Unitarian-Universalist Association, Little Rock
Rev. Jane Bechle, Unitarian-Universalist Association, Little Rock
Rev. Stephen Copley, United Methodist, Little Rock
Rev. Seamus P. Doyle, Episcopal, Harrison
Pastor Randy McCain, Open Door Community Church, Sherwood
Rev. Ed. Wills, Jr., Episcopal, Little Rock
Rev. Patrick Murray, Episcopal, Little Rock

ADVOCATES URGE VOTERS TO REJECT INITIATED ACT 1

Arkansas Ballot Initiative Endangers Children and Youth
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Voices for America’s Children today joins Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a member of Voices network, in opposing Arkansas Initiated Act 1 because it will endanger thousands of foster children awaiting a permanent home.

“With more than 3,700 children currently residing in foster care, and 500 who are waiting to be adopted on any given day, Arkansas’ children cannot afford to be denied the opportunity of finding a permanent home,” said Bill Bentley, Voices President and CEO. “Currently, over 200 foster youth in Arkansas leave foster care at age 18 without ever gaining a permanent home. This ballot initiative would increase this number dramatically and result in the state turning its back on its most vulnerable children. Voices strongly urges all voters to reject this measure.”

On November 4th, Arkansas citizens will vote on Initiated Act 1, which bans unmarried cohabitating couples from serving as foster or adoptive parents. This ballot initiative applies equally to heterosexual and homosexual unmarried couples as well as to all adoptions from public and private child-serving agencies.
Rich Huddleston, executive director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said Act 1 is so harmful to children that it is drawing national attention.

“We hope that Arkansas voters will hear this message from child advocates across the nation: All foster children deserve to find a home that best meets their needs,” Huddleston said.

“The safety and well-being of children should not be politicized,” Bentley said. “Trained child welfare professionals, including judges, social workers, court-appointed advocates, and others representing the best interests of the child must be allowed to make these critical decisions as to when and where a child should be placed on a case-by-case basis,” Bentley continued. “Enacting a rule or law that bans qualified and loving individuals from serving as foster or adoptive parents places these children in jeopardy.”

Coming shortly after President Bush signed the broadest improvement to child welfare services in over a decade, The Arkansas Family Council’s effort takes a step away from meeting the needs of children. Legislation signed by the President on Oct.7, The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, (P.L. 110-351) will allow Arkansas to use kinship and guardianship placements as well as provide additional supports for foster youth up to their 21st birthday. Initiated Act 1 threatens the ability of Arkansas to take full advantage of the positive improvements available in this law.

“Many states speak of child-welfare reform in order to improve the outcomes of the children and families they serve,” Bentley said. “This measure could effectively close the door for foster children. All children, but especially foster and adoptive children, need safe and loving homes. This measure is wrong-headed, short-sighted, and should be soundly rejected by the voters.”

# # #

Voices for America’s Children is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit child advocacy organization committed to speaking out for the well-being of children at the local, state and federal levels of government. With 60 member organizations in nearly every state, as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, we advocate for effective public policies in order to improve the lives of all children throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.voices.org.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is a statewide, non-profit child advocacy organization established in 1977. Our mission is to ensure that all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives and to realize their full potential. For more information please visit: www.aradvocates.org.


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Early Vote Begins!

posted by Laura
4:33 PM on Monday, October 20, 2008

Today, Arkansans began early voting. Lines at the polls in Little Rock were incredibly long -- some folks were waiting up to two hours to vote. Make sure you get to the polls early this year; if early vote was this crowded, imagine what will happen on election day!

In other news, Arkansas Families First released our first commercial, entitled "Please," today. This commercial features real Arkansas children, including children who have been through the foster care system or adopted. Please watch and forward to your friends and family! Then go vote!



Full Press Release and list of early voting sites in Little Rock after the jump. Most other counties only have one early vote location, usually at the county courthouse. To download a PDF with all county clerks to call and ask, click here.



NEWS RELEASE:

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Families First today unveiled a new television ad that will begin airing throughout Arkansas Tuesday morning and run through the election.

The 30-second spot features faces and voices of real Arkansas children, including former foster and adopted children. The children are joined by adults who lived in foster homes as children. Together, they ask voters to say no to Initiated Act 1, which would ban unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children.

"This ad gets to the heart of the issue, and that is the children," said Jennifer Ferguson, deputy director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. "The broad nature of this harmful act means it could affect any Arkansas child who lost their parents. We hope voters remember these faces and vote 'no' to Act 1."

Child welfare experts agree that children should be placed in homes that best meet their needs. A panel of prominent retired judges also asserts that judges should be allowed to place children in homes on a case-by-case basis, without being restricted by a blanket policy that limits the already small pool of good homes.

The spot joins a 9-minute DVD also produced by Arkansas Families First. Both are being distributed across the state. The DVD has been viewed more than 1,100 times since being posted online last Thursday.

The 30-second spot was produced by Arkansas Families First and features all volunteers. There are no paid actors.

EARLY VOTE TIMES at main Early Vote Locations:

Monday - Friday, October 20-24: 8 AM - 6 PM
Saturday, October 25: 10 AM - 4 PM
Monday - Friday, October 27-31: 8 AM - 6 PM
Saturday, November 1: 10 AM - 4 PM
Monday, November 3: 8 AM - 5 PM

Satellite Little Rock Locations and Times:

Sue Cowan Williams Library: 1800 S. Chester
Dee Brown Library: 6325 Baseline Rd.
Roosevelt Thompson Library: 38 Rahling Circle
McMath Branch Library: 2100 John Barrow Rd.

Monday - Friday, October 20 - 24: 10 AM - 6 PM
Saturday, October 25: 10 AM - 4 PM
Monday - Friday, October 27 - 31: 10 AM - 6 PM
Saturday, November 1: 10 AM - 4 PM

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posted by Laura
10:30 AM on Friday, October 17, 2008

A new video from Arkansas Family First supporters sends a strong message to Arkansas voters: Vote NO on Act 1 to save loving homes for Arkansas children!

This short video features adult former foster children and experts in the fields of child protection, psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and clergy who explain the negative consequences if the initiative were to pass. These are all volunteers giving their own testimony.



Please watch the video now. Then forward it to your friends and family! Participants below the jump.



Participants:

* Tasha Nelson - former foster child
* Barbara Miles - former foster child
* Rev. Ed Matthews - retired Methodist minister
* Susan Hoffpauir - social worker/foster parent
* Charis Cook - social worker
* Mia McNeal - adoptive parent
* Dr. Sharp Malak - physician
* Dr. Pat Youngdahl - child psychologist
* Rita Sklar - ACLU
* Aimee Berry - American Academy of Pediatrics, Arkansas Chapter
* Jennifer Ferguson - Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families

Watch it now and then spread the message:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVg8Y49OmMM

Please forward this email to your friends and family -- everyone in Arkansas needs to know about the threat Act 1 poses to Arkansas children!

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Foster Care Alumni of America Oppose Act 1

posted by Laura
11:39 AM on Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Today, the Foster Care Alumni of America, the only national group of adults who have experienced foster care, put out a press release asking Arkansas voters to vote NO on Act 1. Read the full release below the break.


As former foster children from Arkansas said at the DHS hearing last week, the best foster care homes they experienced were ones that were stable and loving, no matter whether the parents were married, unmarried, or single. Last week, Arkansas DHS acknowledged that Arkansas currently does not have enough foster homes for the about 3,7000 children who are in the foster care system at any given times. Arkansas doesn't need a regulation that would arbitrarily reduce loving homes.

Foster Care Alumni of America calls on voters to choose the best interests of children.

Washington, DC — Foster Care Alumni of America, the only national association for adults who experienced foster care as children, is calling on Arkansas citizens to vote “no” on Initiated Act 1 because it would narrow the potential pool of foster and adoptive parents for needy children in Arkansas.

“Every year, a growing number of Arkansas young people are turned out into the world with no family and no place of belonging that is so critical for young people’s success and well-being. Over the last 10 years, we estimate that at least 1,800 children in Arkansas never found families before becoming adults,” said Misty Stenslie, deputy director of Foster Care Alumni of America. “It is tempting to try to create the ‘ideal’ family for kids. As someone who aged out of care and who has worked with thousands of other adults who never made a permanent family connection, I can assure you children without families would welcome the caring permanent presence of any loving, qualified, stable adult.”

Like every other state, Arkansas is constantly challenged to find enough homes for its children who stay in care an average of 21.3 months, according to the latest data from 2005 that the state submitted to federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. More than a third of the children in care are over the age of 13, a time in their lives when they are the least likely to ever be adopted. There are 997 children who have been waiting for 31 months to be adopted with no one to take them in.

Until Arkansas has reached the point at which there are more qualified families taking in kids than there are children who need homes, the state should not limit the qualified pool of parents even further. The process of identifying and qualifying potential parents for needy children should be left to qualified professionals. Each case must be evaluated by local judges and social workers who use their expertise to determine what is in the best interest of a child.

In fiscal 2007, the state had to send 216 children out on their own without a permanent family because they turned 18 and aged out of the foster care system. Even without the tight constraints of this ballot measure, those 216 children still never found a life-long bond with a stable family. Research tells us that without the necessary family supports, foster children who age out of the system will be less likely to attend college, more likely to be unemployed, and more likely to become homeless. These outcomes are heartbreaking for the youth and create financial burdens for taxpayers.

Foster Care Alumni of America’s opposition to this bill mirrors the stand taken by the partners of Arkansas Families First Coalition, who oppose Initiated Act 1 because it works against the best interests of children who need loving homes. Alumni of foster care believe the process of finding loving permanent homes where children can be nurtured and raised in an encouraging environment is challenging enough and should not be made even more difficult. Foster Care Alumni of America believes that child welfare experts, who know what is in the best interests of children, should decide on a case-by-case basis who should be a foster or adoptive parent. A blanket rule that bans otherwise qualified people from being foster or adoptive parents is not in the best interests of a child.

About Foster Care Alumni of America: In 2004, foster care alumni and advocates created a national non-profit association that brings together the expertise of adults who have experienced foster care. Foster Care Alumni of America (FCAA) was formed to engage the more than 12 million alumni of foster care and to advocate for the needs of the youth and alumni of foster care.

FCAA has more than 1,800 members from all 50 states. Through FCAA, alumni of foster care hope to create the ability to connect with one another in an organized and well-supported community and to use alumni expertise to transform the foster care system.

FCAA's mission seeks to provide innovation in the federal and state child welfare systems and effective and meaningful partnerships with child welfare organizations. FCAA has confidence that it can partner with others to reduce the numbers of children and youth in foster care and can improve the foster care experience through investments of their expertise and energy.

For more information on Foster Care Alumni of America, please visit our website at www.fostercarealumni.org.

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