On March 20, the Arkansas Foodbank had to suspend its volunteer operations as part of statewide efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and the organization began seeking ways to fill that gap — even in the face of a swiftly escalating demand for food aid. Enter Get Shift Done, a platform that contracts service industry workers in need of a paycheck to come in and box up food for hunger relief organizations.
From March 17 to April 17, the Garland County District Court issued 2,376 warrants for failure to pay fines and fees, according to the state Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The number of warrants in Garland County far outpaces those issued by other counties in the same time period: Crittenden County issued 48 warrants on the West Memphis docket, and Pulaski County issued 62 on the Little Rock docket.
Faced with mounting criticism about the limited amount of COVID-19 testing in the state, Governor Hutchinson on Thursday afternoon announced plans for a “testing surge” across the state today and tomorrow.
Helps protect health care workers and civilians.
Baxter Regional Medical Center has not yet had a confirmed case of COVID-19, but the Mountain Home hospital is nevertheless feeling the impacts of the pandemic.
Pandemic adds barrier upon barriers.
Down markets.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services is bracing for the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis, as state officials anticipate that a rapidly increasing number of Arkansans will rely on the state’s social safety net programs in the coming months.
COVID-19 creates fear, uncertainty for immigrant community.
As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, the Arkansas Department of Human Services is relaxing certain policies that have led to the removal of tens of thousands of Arkansans from the state’s Medicaid rolls in recent years. Around 11,000 beneficiaries whose coverage was terminated at the end of last month have now been reinstated. Many more will be reinstated as the state works to implement guidance from the federal government.
‘Communities are just turning to each other right now.’
How small farmers and producers are managing amid the pandemic.
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