September 26 through October 2 is We Care for Kids Week, a statewide celebration to raise awareness for quality early childhood education and build support for early childhood educators. It’s an opportunity to inform, motivate and engage Nebraskans across the state....
It’s one thing to know that a significant portion of Nebraska’s youngest children begin their lives in households facing serious financial challenges. It’s another thing to see how those children are distributed across our state’s legislative districts. This week,...
How do we know when children are ready for kindergarten? The ability to identify letters and numbers and have a working vocabulary are often used as benchmarks, yet these don’t tell the whole story.
Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy is accepting applications for the next class through July 22. Created by First Five Nebraska four years ago, the Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) is Nebraska’s premier, non-partisan leadership development program...
It’s the role of parents to ensure their children benefit from safe, loving and stimulating experiences to help them learn and grow. That’s true whether they are being cared for at home with family, with a neighbor or in another setting. It’s also true that a great...
Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics and national partners declared a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health. This declaration focused on the profound growth of mental health hazards associated with the global pandemic, including disruptions...
McCook is leading the charge in innovative programs to boost early childhood quality and access through Local Option Municipal Economic Development Funds, known as LB840. Passed by the Nebraska Legislature in 1991, LB840 authorized cities and villages to collect and...
Local employers have a stake in the availability of quality child care in their communities. Early childhood programs providing high-quality education and care need a number of tools to build a sustainable business, and supporting providers through in-kind donations...
Communities across Nebraska are recognizing quality child care and education programs as a crucial component in addressing our state’s workforce crisis. Child care boosts Nebraska businesses, keeps local economies thriving and supports working families while providing...
On Monday afternoon, Nebraska took one step closer to deciding how best to use its $1.04 billion allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding with the adoption of AM2580 into LB1014, which was referred out of the Appropriations Committee earlier this month....
LB1203, which would use a portion of Nebraska’s $1 billion allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (APRA) dollars to strengthen the state’s early childhood system, was heard by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee this week. The bill was introduced by State...
With nearly 600 new bills introduced this session and approximately 500 carryover bills from last year, the 2022 Nebraska legislative session is shaping up to be remarkably active one for state policymakers. Among the legislation being considered in the Unicameral...