Legal Aid of Arkansas received $128,672 in funding from the Children Living in Poverty Initiative of United Way of Northwest Arkansas, announced May 31st.

This award will fund a program focused on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) within families in Benton, Madison and Washington counties. The goal of the program is to increase parents’ capacity in ensuring their children’s school readiness by addressing poverty-related stressors that significantly increase incidences of child maltreatment and household dysfunction. The program will actively seek out ACEs-affected families, run an ACEs-focused education and outreach campaign and provide free, civil legal services to affected families. The program will begin this year and conclude in 2021.

Legal Aid received similar funding from United Way of Northwest Arkansas for the Children Living in Poverty (CLIP) Project in 2017-2019. We offered a total of 434 community outreach events with over 12,000 people attending to receive general information about our services, fair housing, Arkansas Works, and family law.

Legal Aid is a nonprofit, public interest law firm that provides free legal services to low-income Arkansans with civil legal problems across 31 counties. To apply for assistance or for more information, call 1-800-952-9243 or visit www.arlegalaid.org.