Interim study LR390 is underway to examine the fiscal and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nebraska’s early childhood workforce and early childhood care and education system. FFN and public and private partners are developing potential policy recommendations based on what was learned. Read More
FFN's Elizabeth Everett tesified at a legislative hearing for LR390 this week, along with experts from the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission, the state’s early childhood system, business and child care. Read More
Nearly 700 civic, business and education leaders, from 99 Nebraska communities, 20 states and Washington, D.C., came together for the third annual “Thriving Children, Families, and Communities” conference Monday to focus on quality early childhood programs—which became even more critical with the pandemic—and their connection to community economic development and vitality.
Read MoreThe 106th Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die August 13. Here's an overview and summary of bills affecting early childhood policy from this year's session. Read More
The 2020 session of the 106th Nebraska Legislature is in its third week. Senators introduced 482 new legislative proposals this session. Over the next 30 days, the 14 standing committees will conduct a public hearing for each new introduced bill. Read More
State Fiscal Analyst Liz Hruska and Senator John Stinner were selected as National Conference of State Legislatures Early Learning Fellows in 2016. Read More
Nebraska faces a shortage of high-quality early childhood educators, which impacts the ability of local communities to respond to the needs of young families. LB773 will create a representative panel that will assess the current early childhood workforce and make recommendations for growing it. Read More
The budget stabilizes future funding for Sixpence, Nebraska’s birth to age 3 early learning fund and increases funding for incentives and bonuses in Step Up to Quality. Read More