Mitchell Clark joined First Five Nebraska (FFN) this month as Policy Advisor. He comes to FFN from the Nebraska Legislature, where he served most recently as legislative aide to State Senator John Stinner, District 48, and research analyst for the Appropriations...
“It’s about long-term momentum.” It takes a lot to give young children the best possible start in life. It takes cohesive, resilient families who are prepared to address children’s earliest developmental needs. It takes quality early childhood services and supports to...
Editor's Note: This is part of a series of blog posts by Nebraska's term-limited senators reflecting on their time in the Nebraska Legislature. We thank State Senator Matt Williams for his dedication and service to Nebraska and District 36. Over my eight years in the...
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....
With the 2022 legislative session now in full swing, the Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) focused its January workshop on how citizen advocates can influence the policymaking process in state government. The online event featured a slate of...
Nebraska State Senators will convene the 60-day session of the 107th Legislature Jan, 5, 2022. It will be the second session of the two-year biennium.
Note: The School Readiness Tax Credit program ended with the 2021 tax year. First Five Nebraska is exploring legislation to reinstate the tax credits to provide these important financial supports for child care providers. Nebraska licensed child care professionals,...
Maternal depression is the most common pregnancy and postpartum complication in America, impacting one in every seven women who cease to be pregnant.[1] Even with those statistics, many provider groups agree that this condition remains underdiagnosed, which means even...
FFN Director Jason Prokop said ARPA funds can help stabilize Nebraska’s early childhood workforce in testimony before the Appropriations Committee this week.
The first session of the 107th Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die May 27. During the scheduled 90-day session, state senators debated and passed critical pieces of legislation, including a biennium budget, a Social Security tax cut and a bill to temporarily...
First Five Nebraska Policy Advisor Adam Feser recently testified before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee in support of LB351, Senator Lou Ann Linehan's bill that would make it possible for child care providers changing their license type to retain...
First Five Nebraska (FFN) recently collaborated with early childhood partners and policymakers on the release of the Appropriations Committee of the Nebraska Legislature Legislative Resolution 390 (LR390) Interim Study Report, “Examination of the Fiscal and Economic...