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Joint committee reviews Arkansas children’s fiscal map and a series of child-welfare oversight reports
Summary
A joint meeting of legislative child-welfare committees heard presentations on the Arkansas Children’s Fiscal Map, the Children’s Advocacy Centers annual report, the Infant and Child Death Review report (per Act 1818 of 2005), DCFS overturned-investigations data, and the State Police Crimes Against Children Division quarterly oversight report.
A joint session of the Arkansas Senate Committee on Children and Youth and the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, and Legislative & Military Affairs heard five presentations on Monday that legislators said are intended to inform policy and oversight of child-welfare services.
Pete Gess, Economic Policy Director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, presented the Arkansas Children’s Fiscal Map, an exhibit that maps state investments in children’s programs and where those funds are allocated. The presentation summarized funding destinations across state programs; specific dollar amounts were part of the exhibit materials but are not transcribed in the meeting record.
Elizabeth Pulley, Executive Director of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Arkansas, together with Tiffany Wright, Director of the Division of Children and Family Services, described the Multidisciplinary Team that handles child-abuse responses. Pulley and Wright emphasized training and coordination among team members to provide timely services to child victims.
Laura Taylor, Director of the Arkansas Infant and Child Death Review (ICDR) program, joined by State Panel members Sherry Williamson and Kevin Cleghorn, presented the ICDR annual report. The report covers unexpected deaths of Arkansas children from birth through age 17 and was presented as meeting the reporting requirements of Act 1818 of 2005.
Tiffany Wright also presented the Division of Children and Family Services’ biannual report on investigations that were investigated, overturned, and appealed. The committee received the report’s findings; the transcript notes the subject but does not provide specific percentages or counts.
Major Jeff Drew, Commander of the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division, delivered the division’s January–March 2025 quarterly oversight report, describing hotline call volume and the share of calls that led to investigations and substantiations; the meeting record references the report rather than transcribing numeric detail.
Committee members asked questions during the presentations and received the exhibits into the record. There were no recorded formal votes tied to the reports themselves. Later in the meeting the committee adopted an interim study proposal on zoning exemptions for licensed childcare family homes (see separate item). The joint meeting adjourned at 11:30 a.m.
