Are you passionate about shaping public policy and creating lasting change in your community? The Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA), a premier leadership development program, is excited to announce that applications for the 2025-26 cohort will...
This blog post is being updated as bills move through the legislative process. We are now more than halfway through the legislative session. Hearings have concluded, and full-day floor debate has begun. Speaker Arch, state senators and committees have identified their...
Kelly Mackling is clinical nurse manager at the Visiting Nurse Association in Omaha. She testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee in support of LB22, State Senator George Dungan's bill to allow home visiting programs to bill...
Nebraska’s premier early childhood leadership initiative, the Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA), recently celebrated the completion of its 2024-25 program in Columbus. This milestone marks another step forward in strengthening early childhood and...
Nebraska’s Child Care Tax Credit and School Readiness Tax Credit provide vital support to families, early childhood professionals, child care programs and communities. But to ensure their long-term success, we need input from those who have applied. Since the launch...
Dez Brandt is program manager of Healthy Families America home visiting program in the Panhandle Public Health District. She testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee in support of LB104, State Senator Jane Raybould's bill...
Dr. Ann Anderson Berry is a faculty member of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Medical Director of the Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPQIC). She testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on...
The full $15 million reserved by the State of Nebraska for the refundable Child Care Tax Credit has been reserved within just seven weeks of the application period opening in January. Parents and legal guardians of young children have requested more than $19.3 million...
Members of the Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) Class 6 spent the day at the Nebraska Capitol February 5th engaging with their State Senators. Their focus? Advocating for key bills and policies that impact maternal health and child care—two...
This is the third blogpost in our series highlighting key findings from the Child Care Subsidy Expansion Impact Study. First Five Nebraska led this study in collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, as well as other researchers and child...
This is the second blogpost in our series highlighting key findings from the Child Care Subsidy Expansion Impact Study. First Five Nebraska led this study in collaboration with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, as well as other researchers and...
Today marks the first day of the 109th Nebraska Legislature, First Session. This session will be 90 days and the Second Session next year will be 60 days. This morning new state senators were sworn in, committee chairs and the Speaker were elected by secret ballot and...