Yesterday, Voices for Children Policy Coordinator Juliet Summers testified on LR 523, an interim study on the gaps in services, legal protections, and access to public benefits available to youth who are eighteen but have not reached the age of majority. Voice for Children testified on the need to address this…...
November is National Adoption Month!
November is National Adoption Month! All children need the support of a safe, permanent, and loving family. Achieving permanency in a timely manner should be the priority of our foster care system for children who cannot be reunified with their family. We decided to kick off the month by looking…...
The Cost of Being Poor
Thanks to all who attended the event on Friday,”The Cost of Being Poor: How Small Debt Lawsuits are Hurting Nebraska Families.” At the event, speaker Paul Kiel from Propublica shared the findings from him research for the article “For Nebraska’s Poor, Get Sick and Get Sued” and local panelists State…...
National School Lunch Week
This week, we are joining President Obama, schools, communities, and advocates across the nation in celebrating National School Lunch Week. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) was created 70 years ago as lawmakers recognized that child nutrition, particularly throughout the school day, was a top national priority. Most importantly, the…...
Voices Releases 2016 Vote Kids Candidate Survey
Child policy issues often receive little discussion within campaigns and elections. This is not because candidates and the public do not care about the issues. They do. But child policy issues often do not lend themselves to simple sound bites. They are not considered “hot button” issues that shape many…...
Proposed Update to Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has proposed a long overdue update to the federal regulations under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), last reauthorized in 2002. The JJDPA sets four core requirements for state juvenile justice systems in order to ensure safety and equal treatment for youth. The core…...
Call to Action: Urge Your U.S. Senator to Put Families First Today!
The passage of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act would be a momentous victory for children and families both nationally in Nebraska. The bill would allow federal dollars to be invested in efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect, while also enhancing supports for family-like placements and for older…...
