Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Arkansas program

A state fund for hardship costs during treatment (Baby Sharon Fund)

Arkansas's catastrophic-illness fund. A state council pays a vendor for a family's nonmedical costs while a child is seriously ill.

What it is

Arkansas's catastrophic-illness fund. A state council pays a vendor for a family's nonmedical costs while a child is seriously ill.

Long admissions and transplants bring costs no insurance touches: the drive, a place to sleep near the hospital, a power bill that slipped. This fund exists for exactly those, and the hospital social worker knows how to ask.

Eligibility rules
  • Only patients under 18 are eligible, with one exception: a young adult who started treatment before 18 and still needs it after turning 18.
  • The patient must be an Arkansas resident under the care of a physician practising in Arkansas; grants can also reach out-of-state cases when an Arkansas physician supervises and the treatment is unavailable in Arkansas.
  • The illness must be catastrophic: acute or prolonged, usually life-threatening or with the threat of serious lasting disability. Family need is weighed; no income line is published.
What you get
  • Help with current transportation needs.
  • Lodging or other help so a parent can stay at the child's bedside.
  • Utility shutoff and foreclosure prevention.
  • Equipment, resources and services connected with the child's illness.
What the help covers
  • The fund pays selected nonmedical expenses and obtains resources or equipment. It does not pay cash to the family, medical bills or funeral costs.
  • No award amount is published. The social worker can say what recent requests have covered.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your hospital social worker, or a trusted member of the medical team, to submit a Baby Sharon request for your family.
  2. Tell them the specific nonmedical cost that is the problem this month and who would be paid.
  3. Follow up through the social worker; the council meets once a month and does not contact families directly.

Arkansas Children's Social Work, 501-364-1406, or your own hospital's social work department · Official page ↗

After the request goes in
  • A social worker at Arkansas Children's, or a comparable intermediary at another Arkansas hospital, presents the case; the council convenes on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 4 p.m.
  • There is no direct contact between council members and the parent or child, so ask the social worker for the outcome.
Good to know

Payments go to the agency or provider, never as cash to the family, and each request is decided on need and the money available.

Other details
  • Arkansas Children's Social Work is available Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; you can also ask your nurse or physician for a social-work referral.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Our family is carrying costs the insurance does not touch while our child is in treatment. Could you put a Baby Sharon Fund request in for us, and what would the council need from us?”

Why I’m asking: I want to keep a parent at the bedside without falling behind on the bills at home.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Name the cost and who would be paid; the social worker writes it up.

Your social worker

The hospital social worker, or a comparable intermediary at another Arkansas hospital, prepares, submits and presents the case.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The Baby Sharon Fund Council, meeting monthly.
Ask your social worker
“We are falling behind on a cost the insurance does not touch while our child is in treatment. Could you put a Baby Sharon Fund request in for us?”

How to apply

First step: Ask your hospital social worker to submit a Baby Sharon Fund request, naming the cost and who would be paid.

  1. Tell the hospital social worker the specific nonmedical cost that is the problem this month and who would be paid.
  2. Ask them to submit a Baby Sharon request before the fourth Tuesday of the month.
  3. Follow up through the social worker; the Council does not contact families.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Ask your hospital social worker, or a trusted member of the medical team, to submit the request. At Arkansas Children's, Social Work is on 501-364-1406. The Council meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

What to gather

  • The bill or quote for the cost (the utility notice, the lodging, the equipment)
  • Your child's diagnosis and where they are treated

How long: The Council convenes on the fourth Tuesday of each month; ask the social worker when the next meeting is.

What a yes looks like

The social worker tells you the Council approved it and the fund pays the agency or provider directly.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Ask the social worker whether it was need, the guidelines or the fund's balance, and whether a narrower request would fit.

Watch out

  • Families cannot apply directly; a hospital social worker or medical professional must submit, and the Council never contacts the family.
  • It pays the agency or provider, never cash to the family, and it does not pay medical bills or funeral costs.
  • Each award depends on need and on the money the fund has that month.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked August 24, 2026.

What it is worth

Vendor-paid help with nonmedical hardship costs during a child's catastrophic illness, decided monthly by a state council.

Covers: Help with current transportation needs · Lodging or other help so a parent or guardian can stay at the child's bedside · Utility shutoff prevention and foreclosure prevention · Resources, equipment and services connected with the child's illness · Other added hardship from a long admission, transplant or comparable treatment burden

What it costs the family: Nothing. Approved payments go to the agency or service provider, not to the family.

The eligibility facts, as published

Age
under 18; a young adult who started treatment before 18 and still needs it after turning 18 is the one exception
Residency
Arkansas resident under the care of a physician practising in Arkansas
Condition
a catastrophic illness: an acute or prolonged illness usually considered life-threatening or with the threat of serious residual disability
Income
family need is considered; no income line is published
Out of state care
grants can be made to out-of-state cases when an Arkansas physician is supervising and the treatment is unavailable in Arkansas

Decisions this site cannot make: Family need and the fit with the guidelines, decided case by case by the Council

Expect friction on: Only a hospital social worker or a comparable intermediary can submit; the Council meets once a month

The trap: Families cannot apply directly and the Council never contacts them. Ask the social worker to submit, and follow up through the social worker.

Where I read this

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