The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the most significant source of funding for providing child care assistance to working families to help ensure kids are safe so parents can work. For families with young children, child care has become the largest expense in the family budget and…...
September is Attendance Awareness Month
It’s already September! Across the country, communities, school districts, and nonprofits are marking Attendance Awareness Month. The research is pretty clear: missing lots of school, for any reason, can cause children to fall behind academically and put them at increased risk of dropping out or delaying graduation. In January of…...
2014 National Kids Count Series: Education
Last month the Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book highlighting state trends in child well-being and celebrating their 25th edition of the book by going back to 1990 and looking at changes in America’s children since then. Voices for Children in Nebraska is featuring a series…...
Will Nebraska Move Forward on Hunger-Free Schools?
Earlier this year, we mentioned Community Eligibility as a new option for providing school meals in a way that makes high-poverty schools hunger-free zones. Ensuring that children aren’t hungry in school can help them be better prepared for their primary job of learning. Community Eligibility allows eligible schools to serve…...
Hope in Concrete Form: The Promise of College Savings
Researcher Micheal Sherraden has an often quoted saying that: “assets are hope in concrete form.” Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a national conference on the emerging and growing field of children’s savings accounts where this concept came to life as policymakers and practitioners shared stories of how educational…...
Race for Results Series: African-American Children in Nebraska
Last week the Annie E. Casey Foundation published the Race for Results: building a path to opportunity for all children report. This report explores the intersection of kids, race, and opportunity and features the new Race for Results. This index is based on 12 indicators measuring children’s success and allows…...
National School Breakfast Week
This week is National School Breakfast Week, and this year’s theme is “Take Time for School Breakfast.” For many students, there isn’t always time for breakfast—we’ve recently highlighted how our state can better ensure that schoolchildren reap the many benefits that a nutritious breakfast has to offer, starting with alternative models of…...
