Children and youth need to be held accountable for their actions in effective, appropriate ways that put them on the path to a successful, productive adulthood. Voices for Children in Nebraska supports AM 1674 to LB464 because it makes a number of important changes that will continue this Legislature’s work…...
A closer look at chronic absenteeism and truancy
We all want children to have access to opportunities to succeed through a quality education. Let’s be honest – an important component of a student’s ability to succeed in school is their attendance. In recent years, Nebraska legislators have enacted a number of bills aimed at increasing school attendance, reducing the number…...
Progress has been made, so let’s stay the course
There are two key objectives at the core of any child welfare system: preventing child abuse and neglect by strengthening families and responding quickly, but thoughtfully, to reports of child maltreatment in order to minimize trauma. Last month, the Foster Care Review Office released its 2013 Annual Report, which…...
Foster care reimbursement rate
Responsibility for the care and safety of children rests primarily with biological or adoptive parents. However, sometimes concerns about abuse and neglect arise removing children from their homes is the best way to keep them safe. Studies show that where children are placed is directly related to the outcomes children…...
Kids for Cash has lessons for Nebraska
It’s not every day that the juvenile justice system makes national news. But just a few years ago, a scandal rocked Luzerne County Pennsylvania: judges had accepted nearly $2.6 million from private, for-profit juvenile facilities. Now known as the “Kids for Cash” scandal, this incident created shockwaves across the entire…...
National Adoption Day
Something incredible happened last month. 15-year-old Davion Navar Henry Only’s plea for an adoptive family went viral, generating a flood of 10,000 inquiries from prospective parents in the US and abroad. But making a child’s dreams come true doesn’t require a national media blitz. It doesn’t require National Adoption Month…...
