The Nebraska Child Care Cost Model, a new tool developed in collaboration with First Five Nebraska and Prenatal to Five Fiscal Strategies (P5FS), examines how the expense of delivering high-quality child care services relates to the actual revenue earned by providers....
Alert: Submit an online comment to the Nebraska Legislature by noon Central Time on October 10, 2023 The Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing October 11 on interim study LR191, introduced by State Senator Teresa Ibach to...
An accessible, affordable child care system is critical to keeping Nebraska’s families working, businesses growing and communities thriving. Our Investing in Child Care series highlights how Nebraska employers are championing early childhood care and education...
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...
In Nebraska’s historically tight job market, employers are struggling to recruit and retain skilled workers. One solution to helping parents enter or stay in the workforce is through access to high-quality, affordable early childhood care and education programs. When...
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...
Nebraska’s statewide community of early childhood policy advocates just got larger. This past week, the 2021-22 class of the Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) kicked off in Kearney after a one-year pause in the program due to the onset of...
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to highlight the fragility of Nebraska’s early childhood system. Generating adequate funding to support programs is challenging but essential to keeping Nebraskans working and businesses thriving. While federal emergency funds have...
Nebraska will receive about $1 billion in State and Local Recovery Funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. Here’s where early childhood can fit into the picture.
High-quality early care and learning promotes children’s healthy development that sets them up for lifelong success, but it also affects parents’ ability to work and provide for their families, and communities’ ability to grow their local workforce and economy. Please...
First Five Nebraska launched My Nebraska Story this week, a statewide campaign inviting business leaders, economic developers and others to become involved in strengthening the availability of quality child care in their communities.
Read at a glance the latest news on early childhood in Nebraska, including the ongoing public health emergency and how public and private sector leaders are responding to the challenge of supporting communities, child care providers, families and children.