Money from Arkansas’ share of a tobacco lawsuit settlement is paying to help 201 Arkansans with developmental disabilities with daily living tasks in their homes, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday.
Act 50 of 2017 allocated $8.5 million a year from the state’s share of the settlement to reduce the number of people on a waiting list for those services. About 3,000 Arkansans were on the list at the time the law was passed.
Hutchinson gave an update on the state’s progress to the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Regan Reaves, 19, of Benton — who had been on the list for about eight years and now receives services — and Reaves’ mother, Wendie.
Human Services Department officials said an additional 299 Arkansans who had been on the list are also slated to receive services.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.