Those who are pregnant or have children in the home are exempt from Nebraska Medicaid work requirements.
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Early Childhood Policy
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We promote policies that support the early care, education and healthy development of our state’s youngest children—and create opportunity
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A Bipartisan Win for Nebraska Families: Making Child Care Assistance Permanent
Nebraskans deserve the best from their elected officials. They expect us to listen, to deliberate with respect, to work together. Sometimes we fall short, but more than once this session, we got it right. On January 8, I stood united with many of my colleagues in the...
FFN’s New Affordability Calculator Shows How Much Child Care Costs Across the State
This blog post was originally published as an op-ed in the Nebraska Examiner. One of the most common questions First Five Nebraska (FFN) receives from policymakers and community leaders is “What’s the average cost of child care in Nebraska?” The short answer: more...
Nebraska Early Childhood Advocates Oppose Rolling Back Head Start Teacher Pay and Benefits
On May 12, the federal Office of Head Start published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to rescind 2024 Head Start teacher wage regulations. The regulations required creation of wage scales and progress toward pay parity by 2031, with Head Start...
The Economic Cost of Child Care Challenges in the Greater Omaha Region
In March, First Five Nebraska released Working Families, Working Economy: An Examination of the Economic Impact, Supply and Demand of the Child Care System in the Greater Omaha Chamber Region. The report was commissioned by the Greater Omaha Chamber (GOC) to better...
Regional Collaborations are Driving Change for Child Care in Nebraska
Over the past two years, the 6 Regions, One Nebraska initiative has helped put the issue of child care where it belongs—front-and-center in economic development strategy discussions throughout the state. While awareness of the state’s child care shortage isn’t new,...
Child Care Provider: Federal Food Program Should Reimburse Everyone Equally
Editor's Note: State Senator Bob Hallstrom (District 1) introduced Legislative Resolution 296 in the Unicameral this year. The resolution supports reimbursing family child care homes in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) at the higher Tier 1 rate and...