The Arkansas Residential Assisted Living Association (ARALA) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to provide advocacy, communication, education, and other resources to residential care and assisted living communities and the Arkansans we care for, our residents. ARALA represents Arkansas residential care and assisted living facilities. 

In 2001, ARALA was able to get the Assisted Living legislation passed after many years of effort.   Legislative changes that would have required facilities to increase trained staff or provide health care assessments with no reimbursement were examples of changes that ARALA was able to affect.  During previous legislative sessions, the future of Medicaid in facilities was in question and required a great deal of effort on the part of the Association.  Also, there was a strong push to have the Permit of Approval (POA) program abolished.  (The POA program is to ensure adequate services in areas of need while preventing over-building by allowing only projects that can establish the need for the facility to be completed.) Again, the association worked on behalf of its members and more largely, the industry as a whole. 

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