Voices for Children believes that successful stewardship of our state is not just about looking at where we are today, but thinking about where we want to be tomorrow. Cutting funding to programs that have been extremely beneficial to children is concerning to us. In the first of a series…...
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…...
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…...
TANF Asset Limits Provide a Barrier to Financial Stability
Programs such as Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) should provide support to families as they work toward financial independence. Structured properly, these programs can greatly benefit children and their families. However, programs do not always function as effectively as they could. A recent…...
Back to School: Is Your School a Hunger-Free Zone?
August means that it’s back to school season in Nebraska! As students and teachers gear up for a full year of learning in the classroom, we at Voices are turning our attention to an important factor in academic success: proper nutrition. Research tells us that hunger negatively impacts academic performance,…...
Urge your Member of Congress to put Nebraska’s families first!
Last week, the Family First Prevention Services Act (H.R. 5456) advanced from the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously and its Senate companion bill (S. 3065) was introduced days later. The bipartisan and bicameral proposal would reform federal child welfare funding mechanisms to support prevention efforts and to reduce congregate…...
Save school meals for Nebraska kids!
Last month, the Improving Child Nutrition and Education Act of 2016 (H.R. 5003) advanced from the U.S. House education and Workforce Committee with markups that would significantly change national child nutrition programs for the worse. As this year’s child nutrition reauthorization was being considered by the Committee, we proudly joined…...
Bipartisan Movements in Federal Child Welfare Legislation
With the 2016 session of the Nebraska Legislature just around the corner, our policy team is gearing up to continue building pathways to opportunity for children in our state. Although much of our work at Voices is centered on advancing policies in the Unicameral, we also monitor federal legislation that…...
Fewer Nebraska Children Living in Poverty
Children and families being able to meet their basic needs is imperative to the overall well-being and success of our state’s future leaders and workforce. Nebraska families must be able to achieve financial security and our policies should support them in building a strong future for their children. One…...
