For over 28 years, Voices for Children in Nebraska has been the outspoken, independent voice for Nebraska’s kids. As we move closer to our annual Spotlight Gala on September 19, we’re taking a look inside our organization to show you how we create opportunities for children to reach their full potential. In the final part of our series; “It’s Who We Are, It’s What We Do, It’s Why It Matters”, we look at how our work is changing the lives of our state’s children. Victories for kids do not just happen by accident. All children deserve the chance to lead healthy, secure and fulfilling lives. However, many children in our state don’t have a voice, and it takes thorough research and skilled advocacy to score big wins for Nebraska’s children and families.
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 21 bills we supported were ultimately became law on their own or as amendments to other bills. In addition to our full Sine Die Legislative Update, here are some highlights of this year’s legislative session:
Kids Count Commentary Series Part 4: Supporting Working Families – Assets
On January 29th, Voices for Children released the 22nd annual Kids Count in Nebraska Report. This year’s report is our biggest and most comprehensive edition to date. Every year in the Kids Count report, we include a timely commentary providing a deeper look at an issue important to the work we do here at Voices. In this year’s commentary topic, we took a look at how our state can support working families. Today, the fourth post in the commentary series explores Nebraska families’ assets. Check out the first three posts in the series: employment and income, poverty and the family bottom line, and worker benefits.
Closing the Coverage Gap for Nebraska’s Kids
Early numbers on uninsured rates following the close of the enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) suggest that the bill has been successful in connecting uninsured Americans with health coverage. Although the ACA primarily affects adults, many uninsured children stand to gain coverage through their parents. As a result, the recent health insurance reforms may have a significant impact for the 5.8 million American children who were uninsured in 2012. A new report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation last week on recent trends in the uninsured rate for children can provide us with a starting point for understanding what the ACA means for children. The broader story in Nebraska was relatively consistent with how children across the country fared through the recession. Nationally, a 2.3% decline in uninsured children was observed from 2008 through 2012, while Nebraska saw a 1.5% decline. The public-private coverage breakdown tells us just how crucial public programs were in supporting families during the economic downturn. Private coverage rates for children declined by 6.2% in Nebraska during this time period (5.5% nationally), while public coverage rates increased by 7.7% (7.8% nationally). The report also captured considerable economic and racial disparities in insurance coverage that we know to be a troubling issue for kids in Nebraska. When compared to the rest of the country, Nebraska has some of the most startling gaps. Non-white children in Nebraska are 2.7 times more likely to be uninsured than their white counterparts, and a Hispanic child is 4.8 times more likely to be uninsured, leaving our state ranked as the second- and first-worst by ratio, respectively. So what can we do to ensure that kids in Nebraska have affordable access to quality health insurance? If we follow the lead of other states that have led the country in reducing uninsured rates of children, there are a variety of legislative, administrative, and community-based approaches that may be worth exploring. Measures such as expanded eligibility levels, continuous eligibility, or administrative renewal can directly address the many challenges that families face in getting adequately covered. It is also crucial to recognize that health is just one piece of the much larger puzzle in evaluating and improving the well-being of all children in Nebraska. It is impossible to meaningfully speak to the disparities observed in trends of uninsured rates without examining their relationships to gaps in other areas of concern. Join us this Wednesday for our “Race for Results” event, where we will be highlighting the latest Race for Results Report and learning more about where Nebraska stands from our expert panel!
Legislative Update: Sine Die 2013
A little more than a year ago, the Legislature’s “Session of Children” adjourned after lots of hard work and heated debate. As the 2013 Legislative Session drew to a close and more bills crossed the finish line, it is incredibly encouraging to see that the Legislature’s commitment to investing in children hasn’t waned. Not only has the Legislature maintained their commitment to maintaining last year’s victories for kids, but they are also willing to go a step further and take on new challenges.
LB 577: Change provisions relating to the medical assistance program (Medicaid Expansion)
As introduced: The intent of LB 577 is to require Nebraska Medicaid to add the newly eligible adult population under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to the Nebraska Medicaid state plan amendment; and outlines the health coverage provided under the program. The bill provides for expanded eligibility to low-income adults who are age 19 to 65. The inclusion of this population will provide health coverage for uninsured childless adults from 0-133% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) For 2013 the FPL at 133% for an individual is $15,282 per year. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the ACA, allows for a 5% income disregard so the threshold will effectively be at 138% FPL, for 2013 an individual income limit would be $15,856.
Cost of Child Care
Access to quality child care is of paramount importance to the 56% of Nebraska families where all adults in the household are in the labor force (American Community Survey, 2011). LB 507 has taken steps toward ensuring the quality of child care and increasing affordability for the Nebraska families with low incomes. Quality, educational child care is important to giving children the tools necessary to succeed later in life. But child care comes at a high cost. Child Care Aware of America estimates the annual cost of child care in Nebraska at$7,639 for an infant, $6,386 for a 4-year-old, and $5,769 for a school-age child. The cost of child care is actually 10.2% higher than the cost of a year’s tuition at a 4 year public Nebraska college! These costs can be prohibitive for low and even middle income families, especially if that family has more than one child. Working a full-time (40 hour) minimum wage job results in earnings of only $15,080 per year. For a single parent with 2 children, working full time at minimum wage could mean paying 90% of their annual income to child care. Increased eligibility for child care assistance provides parents the incentive to work and allows them to give their children an educational head start. The increased eligibility for child care assistance and ensured quality ratings of child care facilities will help even the playing field for all Nebraska kids.
Nebraska’s Session of Youth
A little more than a year ago, the Legislature’s “Session of Children” adjourned after lots of hard work and heated debate. As the 2013 Legislative Session draws to a close, and more bills cross the finish line, it is incredibly encouraging to see that the Legislature’s commitment to investing in children hasn’t waned. Not only has the Legislature maintained their commitment to maintaining last year’s victories for kids, but they are also willing to go a step further and take on new challenges.
Implement ACA’s new Medicaid options – Support for LB 577
Although children are already eligible for Medicaid at a higher income level, this LB 577 would allow uninsured parents with incomes between about 60% and 133% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) access to health insurance.
Support for the “Step Up to Quality Act” for early childhood care (LB 507)
Voices for Children in Nebraska testified in support of LB 507, a bill which would help increase the quality of child care available across the state. Here is our written testimony: Voices for Children in Nebraska would like to express our support for LB 507 and thank Senator Campbell for bringing forward this bill. Over the past few decades, understanding of early childhood and the significant brain development that occurs during this time period has grown significantly. There has been a growing recognition across sectors—ranging from the business community to military leaders and law enforcement—of the long-ranging impact and potential of this developmental stage.
