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Arkansas officials describe ABC preschool seats, home visiting and HIPPIE supports
Summary
State presenters told the Senate committee the Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) program awarded 23,420 seats across 239 agencies for program year 2021, and described home‑visiting models (HIPPIE, PAT) that provide screening, instruction and family supports during COVID‑19.
Officials from the Arkansas Department of Education and the ABC program outlined state‑funded preschool, home visiting and program safeguards.
Lori Bridges, director of early childhood programs at the Arkansas Department of Education, summarized the ABC program’s purpose as preparing young children for kindergarten through high‑quality early learning. She said families with gross income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level are eligible for free ABC preschool; other families may qualify via sliding fee scales or at‑risk criteria. Bridges noted example income thresholds used in outreach: a family of four earning below $52,400 and a single parent with one child earning below $34,480 would qualify for ABC at no charge.
Bridge described program models—center‑based, public pre‑K in school districts, and co‑ops—and said ABC requires teacher and paraprofessional qualifications, low student‑to‑teacher ratios (infants 1:4; toddlers 1:7; preschool 1:10), a minimum of 178 instructional days per year and at least 30 hours of annual professional development for licensed teachers and paraprofessionals.
Susan Underwood, ABC manager, reported that for program year 2021 the state awarded 23,420 seats across 239 agencies, including school districts, co‑ops, private programs and family care homes, and that agencies may reallocate seats to meet community needs. She described multiple funding sources that support services—ABC, the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Head Start, Title funds and child nutrition programs—and pointed to research from the University of Central Arkansas that shows students who attended ABC often perform better on assessments and have lower retention rates.
Underwood also described home‑visiting programming (HIPPIE for ages 2–5 and Parents as Teachers for birth to 5), monthly group connection activities, health and developmental screenings, and early intervention referrals for speech, occupational and other therapies. A recorded parent testimony described HIPPIE as a practical support during spring 2020 school closures.
The chair asked members to forward additional questions to staff; slides and resource materials were to be distributed to members.
