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…...
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,…...
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…...
2016 KIDS COUNT Data Book: Health
Last month, 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…...
The National KIDS COUNT Data Book release is right around the corner!
If you follow Voices for Children in Nebraska, you undoubtedly hear a lot about the Kids Count in Nebraska Report. However, you may not know much about its national counterpart, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Next week will mark the release of the 27th edition of the National KIDS COUNT…...
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…...
Thank you!
Every year, Voices for Children proudly joins many other Omaha-area nonprofits in Omaha Gives! This year’s 24-hour online giving campaign raised over $8 million and demonstrated our community’s strong commitment to the important work of our local nonprofits. This year, our participation in Omaha Gives raised over $5000 (before matching…...
