Early Childhood Professionals
“The fact is, we’re essential—we’re linchpins in our communities and economy. The state needs professionals like us to be on the job, day in and day out, without fail—so the rest of Nebraska can get to their own jobs, build stronger families, raise successful children and keep moving forward.”
— Kim Chase | Owner/Operator, Chase’s Childcare Corner
You Are Essential
Early childhood professionals are the backbone of a broad network of programs and services that keeps Nebraska’s communities and state working. Child care operators and staff, family engagement specialists and others all represent a diverse, highly-skilled and essential segment of our statewide workforce.
But Nebraska’s early childhood professionals face a growing array of challenges that make it increasingly difficult to enter, remain and thrive in this crucial field of work. This includes an array of regulatory obstacles and financial challenges that affect the ability of caregivers and educators to keep their doors open and meet the needs of the children, families and communities they serve.
Stand Up For Your Profession
If you are an early childhood professional, your insight is needed to help us create policy solutions that will help develop a more robust and rewarding early childhood system in Nebraska.
- Get connected to others working in your field through organizations like the Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children (NE AYEC), the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative or the Nebraska Family Child Care Association (NFCCA).
- Enroll in the Nebraska Early Childhood Professional Record System (NECPRS) and Step Up to Quality. These resources give you access to services and resources to advance your professional development, improve your child care program and enable advocates to better understand the needs of early childhood workers throughout the state.
- Create a profile on the Nebraska Child Care Referral Network, a robust website that can connect you more easily with parents seeking child care services, and keep you informed about news and developments affecting early childhood professionals.
Featured Publications
Lawmakers score win for families, child care providers with passage of LB754
First Five Nebraska commends the members of the Nebraska Legislature who voted to pass LB754 (originally introduced as LB318), an important bill for working parents, child care providers and communities across the state. When signed into law by Governor Pillen, LB754...
The Policy Leadership Academy is accepting applications for Class 5
The Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) is excited to announce that applications are open for Class 5! We’re looking for individuals with a passion for early childhood and pre/perinatal issues who want to be effective change agents in their communities. ...
First Five Nebraska leads impact study on child care subsidy eligibility changes
At First Five Nebraska, we value public policy that is grounded in research. It informs which policies we support. We stay apprised of research in the early childhood field to be a resource for policymakers in Nebraska. And we pursue research projects like The Bottom...
School Readiness Tax Credit would recognize, support child care providers
LB754, the Child Care Tax Credit Act (formerly LB318), is on Select File, the second of three rounds of debate in the Nebraska Legislature. It includes a provision to reinstate the School Readiness Tax Credit Act, which would provide tax credits for eligible child...
The ‘Iron Triangle’: Why child care programs struggle to break even
Given the high prices parents pay for child care, it is often assumed that child care programs must be very profitable. However, this is almost never the case. In fact, just to break even, a program must operate consistently within the constraints of what child care...
Policy Leadership Academy graduates are movement builders
Last week, we at First Five Nebraska were proud to recognize the fourth class of the Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy as they finished the program and graduated into the statewide network of PLA alumni. This class was exceptional in a handful of ways: They...
The Latest on the Blog
Lawmakers score win for families, child care providers with passage of LB754
First Five Nebraska commends the members of the Nebraska Legislature who voted to pass LB754 (originally introduced as LB318), an important bill for working parents, child care providers and communities across the state. When signed into law by Governor Pillen,...
The Policy Leadership Academy is accepting applications for Class 5
The Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) is excited to announce that applications are open for Class 5! We’re looking for individuals with a passion for early childhood and pre/perinatal issues who want to be effective change agents in their...