Like many of you, those of us at Voices for Children were shocked and heartbroken by the news of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary on Friday morning. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and community of Newtown, CT as they mourn the loss of 20…...
Explaining the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act was created to support families by making health insurance more affordable and accessible. Nebraska currently has a historic opportunity under the Affordable Care Act to improve our health care system for working families. As the Legislative Session nears, it’s important to know what it is we’re…...
What’s Next for Nebraska’s Juvenile Justice System?
On Thursday, December 6, nearly 250 Nebraskans gathered in Lincoln for Voices for Children’s first ever Juvenile Justice Summit. For the past 25 years, Voices for Children has been working to improve Nebraska’s juvenile justice system, but we know we haven’t gotten where we need to go for children and youth.…...
The Budget Impact of the Affordable Care Act
There are many changes to come in health care in the next year and one topic pressing to Nebraskans is the Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act. On Tuesday, the Health and Human Services and Appropriations Committees of the state legislature considered the costs and benefits of a potential…...
New Report Highlights “Lost Decade” for Some Nebraska Families
A new report released this week by Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyzes state income trends and highlights significant disparities in growth rates since the 1970s. Nationally, the report found that higher income households have seen substantial income growth while those in lower and middle income households had experienced…...
Cutting Our Future: The Medically Handicapped Children’s Program
The Medically Handicapped Children’s Program (MHCP) is a program that provides specialized medical services for families with children with disabilities or ongoing health care needs. These services can include case management, specialty medical team evaluations, access to specialty physicians, and payment of treatment services. Buried among the budget modifications in the recent…...
Cutting Our Future: Medicaid Provider Rates
Medicaid is an important lifeline for kids whose families would otherwise be unable to afford health insurance. Having health insurance, especially when kids are young, is a critical component of ensuring healthy development. In 2010, 69% of all Medicaid participants in Nebraska were kids. But having health insurance alone isn’t…...
