Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month Spotlight – Drew Mabry
Despite being essentially non-verbal until age 4, Drew Mabry has blossomed in his abilities through Applied Behavior Analysis therapy provided to him under the Arkansas Autism Waiver. Now 11, Drew is thriving. He is an award-winning children’s book author, spelling bee champion, and lover of music, dance, and acting. Learn more about Drew in this […]
Help Your Kids Feel the Magic of a Sparkling Smile!
It’s National Tooth Fairy Day! The Tooth Fairy is a magical tradition in many households – and she frequently helps encourage kids to keep their teeth healthy by leaving small notes of encouragement and rewards under their pillows as they move from their “baby teeth” to “adult teeth”. While the Tooth Fairy’s visits may look […]
Mental Health Awareness Month: A Veteran’s Story
Mikel Brooks was medically retired from the military in 2009 after injuries received in war during his 9 years of service. After his discharge he fell into a cycle a drug use and homelessness, culminating in a suicide attempt in 2017 . After finally reaching out for help, out of those ashes he founded the […]
National Nurses Week
All of our DHS nurses deserve a round of applause for the range of skills they employ every day on the job. These videos profile two of the many nurses who care for our clients across the state: Arkansas Health Center RN Lindsey Rhodes and Conway Human Development Center RN Supervisor Tameka Webb. Lindsay Roads […]
Arkansas DCFS Strengthens Families Through Intensive In-Home Services
DCFS’ main goal is to strengthen families and keep them safely together. One of our most effective tools to achieve this goal is Intensive In-Home Services. The program offers wraparound support to families and allows children to remain safely in their home or to safely reunite with family. Watch this video to hear more about […]
Waiver services transform Arkansas family; funding set to reduce waitlist for many others
Regan Reaves is a 23-year-old who began receiving Community and Employment Supports (CES) Waiver services roughly five years ago. Before the waiver, Regan’s mother Wendie had to help Regan with most of her day-to-day needs, like basic self-care activities, preparing and eating meals, etc. Filling this caretaker role for Regan meant that Wendie could not […]
Easter Egg Roll at the Governors Mansion
In recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, DHS hosted the Building ‘Eggstravagant’ Families Through Prevention Easter Egg Roll with First Lady Susan Hutchinson at the Governor’s Mansion yesterday. Attendees included families from Booker T. Washington Elementary School in Little Rock, a community school that provides extra services to students and families as a way […]
From Paralegal to 2022 Nursing Compassion Award Winner
Tiffany Marshall grew up dreaming of becoming a nurse. As a child, she was always a “helper” and enjoyed making other people happy. But like so often happens, life got in the way and Tiffany put that dream on hold as an adult and began working as a paralegal to raise and support her family. […]
Christmas at Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center
Note: This piece is the second in a series of stories about holiday traditions at the five Human Development Centers across the state run by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. We all know that Santa Claus has his famous list. We try hard all year to be more “nice” and less “naughty” so Santa […]
Arkadelphia Human Development Center Celebrates Thanksgiving
Note: This piece is the first in a series of stories about holiday traditions at the five Human Development Centers across the state run by the Arkansas Department of Human Services. No matter where you live, Thanksgiving is all about celebrating family traditions at home with people you love. Fall and winter decorations come out, […]
Grant supports We Are The 22, group that helps veterans in crisis
We Are the 22 is a unique community of veterans that provide suicide crisis intervention to veterans throughout Arkansas in need of support and assistance. Thanks to the CARES Act, DHS was able to award this organization with funds that the group used for upgraded body armor, new trauma kits, Narcan packs, a statewide billboard […]
Caring in Action Award: Cross County Judge honored for efforts to fix road near DHS client’s home
In April 2021, DHS staff notified Cross County Judge Donnie Sanders that a DHS client could not continue to get needed services because no one could make it down her street. The next day, Judge Sanders took action by directing a county crew to grade the road, which allowed services to resume.
