A couple weeks ago the Annie E. Casey Foundation published the Race for Results: building a path to opportunity for all children report. This report explores the intersection of kids, race, and opportunity and features the new Race for Results. This index is based on 12 indicators measuring children’s success and allows for comparison between states and different racial groups. This is the second post in a blog series that will examine each racial group in Nebraska. Our series started with a post on the state of Nebraska’s African American children, this week we will had a closer look at American Indian children living in Nebraska.
Compared to overall index scores in Nebraska, our American Indian children are scoring below the average. The overall index score for American Indian children in the U.S. is 387 out of 1,000 total, unfortunately since 
Nebraska’s population of American Indian children is so small, much data on the indicators was missing for this group, so an overall index score could not be computed. Among the 12 indicators, Nebraska’s American Indian children scored the lowest among each racial group in enrollment of 3-5 year olds in preschool, nursery school, or kindergarten, 4-year high school graduation rate, teen girls delaying childbearing until adulthood, percent of young adults working or in school, percent of children living in 2-parent families and the percent of children living above 200% of poverty. The following chart shows how this group compares to the state average for each of the 12 indicators.
In conjunction with this data and report, Voices for Children in Nebraska held an event to highlight more of the state data and to identify areas where targeted strategies and investments are needed in order to ensure opportunity for all Nebraska children. The event was eye-opening to the educational achievement gap and provided attendees with strategies to turn the tide. Stay tuned in the coming weeks as we dive further into the data on Nebraska’s different racial groups.
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