While institutionalizing juvenile delinquents is no longer fashionable, questioning the use of Nebraska’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers (YRTCs) is more than just concern over keeping up with current trends. A Voices for Children issue brief, published in January 2012, explored some of the problems with Nebraska’s method of…...
Mind the gap in educational achievement
All students should have the opportunity for academic success, but long-standing inequities in the educational system—like racial segregation and unequal school resources and academic opportunities—lead to greater challenges for students of color. Our latest infographic takes a look at where those gaps in academic achievement:...
Support for kin families, by the numbers
Yesterday, Sarah wrote about the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s new report, Stepping Up for Kids: What Government and Communities Should Do to Support Kinship Families. The report tells of the growing number of children who live with relatives or other closely-connected families as an alternative to traditional foster care. About…...
Gaining perspective on the Governor’s Tax Cut
Cutting taxes limits Nebraska’s ability to fund important programs aimed at helping our children get the best possible start in life. To give us a little perspective, here are 10 policy changes that benefit kids from before birth through their teen years, sized relative to Governor Heineman’s proposed tax cuts.…...
Proposed tax cut not worth a pound of potatoes
The Governor’s proposed tax cuts don’t amount to much for families just trying to get by. A more meaningful solution for lower- and middle-income families would be to increase the state Earned Income Tax Credit. State revenues could also support other programs impacting children and hard-working Nebraska families....
Medicaid: An essential safety net
Medicaid provides an essential safety net for low-income children, the elderly and disabled. The program is funded jointly by both federal and state government and covers over 200,000 Nebraskans. Many people walk a tight rope between health and illness. Medicaid is an important safety net set to catch the…...
Funding Child Safety
Child safety is about more than just physical safety. It’s about ensuring youth have the experiences and supports that support their healthy development. For children, this involves permanent, loving family connections. Unfortunately in Nebraska, many of the resources we have available to keep children safe, especially from the federal…...
The Other Side of the Tracks: Nebraska Kids in Out-of-Home Care
Take a moment and step into the shoes of a child placed in out-of-home care. Imagine being taken away from your parents, friends, and home and placed into an unfamiliar situation, most likely surrounded by strangers. Every year since 1988, Nebraska has had over 8,000 children in out-of-home care at…...
