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Health

Legislative Update: Sine Die 2015

Last week, the 2015 Legislative Session officially came to a close.  With 18 new Senators, this year brought a lot of changes and we are pleased to say that it also resulted in progress for Nebraska kids and families.  This year, Voices for Children testified on 47 different bills and…...

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OPS Schools Recognized for Being Hunger-free

  We know that hunger can be a barrier to learning, and we have previously mentioned on the blog that schools that have a significant portion of low-income students now have the option of becoming hunger-free zones by serving free meals to all enrolled kids.  In the first year that…...

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WIC Works: Program Successes and Nebraska Data

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)  is a proven public benefit program providing nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to health care and social services to low-income women and their infants and children. The program provides vouchers for nutritious foods to support a…...

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April is National Minority Health Month!

  The CDC and HHS have named April National Minority Health Month. During this month, much attention is put on “raising public awareness about health and healthcare disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minorities and efforts to advance health equity.” Voices for Children began to address the issue…...

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Reauthorizing CHIP is Vitally Important for Children’s Futures

  Since its inception in 1997 and reform in 2009, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has made monumental gains in reaching children living in poverty across the nation and ensuring that they grow up to be healthy and successful adults. According to our Family Bottom Line Report, eligibility levels…...

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2015 Priority Legislation

Last Thursday was the final day for individual senators to choose their priority legislation designation for the 2015 session. Each senator may select one bill as his priority, each legislative committee may select two bills, and the Speaker can select up to 25 bills. For an entire list of 2015…...

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Why Medicaid Expansion Matters for Kids

  Many low-income Nebraskans still fall into the health insurance coverage gap in which they earn too high of an income to be eligible for Medicaid, but not enough to be able to afford private health insurance. Many of those that fall in the coverage gap are also parents to…...

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Voices for Children Supports LB 411, Increasing SNAP Gross Eligibility Limits

Click Here to Read Voices for Children’s Entire LB 411 Testimony Yesterday, Voices for Children Economic Stability and Health Policy Coordinator Aubrey Mancuso testified in support of LB 411, which raises gross income limits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Voices for Children supports LB 411 because it takes…...

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Voices for Children Supports LB 572 and Efforts to Curtail Cyberbullying

Click Here to Read Voices for Children’s Entire LB 572 Letter of Support This afternoon, Voices for Children Policy Associate Jenna Sutton submitted a letter of support for LB 572, which  tasks the state school security director with recommending a curriculum to assist school districts in preventing and responding to…...

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Nebraska Policy Should Promote Health and Economic Security for Pregnant Workers and Families

Nebraska citizens value both family and hard work and it is important that policies in the workplace match these values. Nebraska has high overall employment and high numbers of women in the workforce. Approximately 71% of women who give birth within a particular year are working. Often, these women are…...

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