At Voices for Children in Nebraska, we advocate for policies that help make our state the best place to be a kid. Guided by research, we seek to remove barriers to opportunity for all children by engaging the public and elected officials on the issues of child welfare, economic stability,…...
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…...
Voices for Children Testimony on LR 513
Yesterday, Voices for Children Policy Coordinator Juliet Summers testified on LR 513, which examines workforce issues within the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Voices for Children testified on the need to ensure that case managers and probation officers have an appropriate number of cases, provide more support for the child…...
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…...
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…...
Neighborhood Opportunity in Nebraska
Child development and well-being is influenced not only by a child’s home environment but also by the neighborhood in which he/she lives. Neighborhoods vary in the resources they provide, such as in school quality, parks and other public spaces, child care centers, and health care availability. Additionally, poverty rates, adult…...
Nebraska’s Summer Lunch Program Troubles
According to a report released earlier this summer by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), Nebraska has fallen to 46th nationally in its participation in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). In 2014, nearly 125,000 children in Nebraska under the age of 18 qualify for free and reduced lunch, but only around 8.5% (11,000)…...
2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Family and Community
In June, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book – an annual ranking of states on 16 key indicators of child well-being in the areas of Economic Well-being, Education, Health, and Family and Community. In this year’s Data Book, Nebraska received an overall ranking of…...
