2024 Kids Count Report

Nebraska was founded under values of opportunity and equality for all, but when looking at the data on Nebraska’s children and families, a harsher reality is uncovered – one of disparity and lack of equitable chance of future success and opportunity for children of color. In response to this, the Index of Race & Opportunity for Nebraska Children was created. A composite score of 13 indicators of child well-being was calculated to highlight disparities in opportunity and measure progress toward race equity and inclusion.

7 Key Steps

used to help advance and embed race equity and inclusion at all levels of policy creation

STEP 1

Establish an understanding of race equity and inclusion principles.

STEP 2

Engage affected populations and stakeholders.

STEP 3

Gather and analyze disaggregated data.

STEP 4

Conduct systems analysis of root causes of inequities.

STEP 5

Identify strategies and target resources to address root causes of inequities.

STEP 6

Conduct race equity impact assessment for all policies and decision making.

STEP 7

Continuously evaluate effectiveness and adapt strategies.

Every child and family deserves access to affordable, quality physical and behavioral health care.

Quality and consistent preventive health care, beginning even before birth, gives children the best chance to grow up to be healthy and productive adults.

Children and families must be able to access and maintain affordable health insurance, and policies should maximize availabilty and robust investment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Our health care systems and policies should prioritize preventive services including immunization, developmental screenings, early intervention, and home visiting. Policies should promote timely and equitable access to a complete range of health care services within a healthly home and community-based environments for children and families across the lifespan.

Births

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Pre/Post-Natal Health

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

Teen Births & Sexual Behavior

Teen Births (2023)

Teen births continue to decline.

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

*Data Suppressed
Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Infant & Child Deaths

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Health Insurance

Source: Nebraska Medicaid Annual Report for State Fiscal Year 2023

Health Services

Health professional shortage areas are designations that indicate a shortage of health care providers in the areas of primary care, mental health care, or dental health care. Shortages fall into 3 categories¹:

1. Geographic areas – a shortage of providers for the entire population within an area

2. Population groups – a shortage of providers within an area for a specific high-need population

3. Facilities – health care facilities within an area have a shortage of health professionals to meet their needs

Source:
¹ 2022-23 National Survey of Children’s Health.

Medicaid/CHIP (FY2022)

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

Immunizations (2023)

Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

Source: 2022-23 National Survey of Children’s Health.

Behavioral Health

Many children in Nebraska deal with behavioral health problems that may affect their ability to participate in normal childhood activities.

The National Survey of Children’s Health estimates the amount of Nebraska children facing the following disorders:

Sources:
¹ 2022-23 National Survey of Children’s Health.
² 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health.

Regional centers (2023)

Source: Department of Health and Human Services.

Sources:
¹ 2022-23 National Survey of Children’s Health.
² Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2021.

Health Risks

Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2021

Blood Lead Level Testing (SFY 2023)

Exposure to lead may harm a child’s brain and central nervous system. Even low blood lead concentrations can cause irreversible damage such as:

• Impaired physical and cognitive development
• Delayed development
• Behavioral problems
• Hearing loss
• Malnutrition

The Centers for Disease Control uses a reference level of five micrograms per deciliter to identify children as having an elevated blood lead level.

Source: Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Source: Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Annual Report 2023.

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being. Experiencing multiple ACEs results in compounding effects, and there is growing evidence that it is the general experience of multiple ACEs, rather than the specific individual impact of any one experience, that matters. The experience of ACEs extends beyond the child and can cause consequences for the whole family and community.

Education is the surest way to build a pathway to lifelong success, and the early years of a child’s life are imperative to laying a solid foundation for success. Establishing the conditions that promote educational achievement for children is critical. With a strong and healthy early beginning, children can more easily stay on track to remain in school, graduate on time, pursue postsecondary education and training and enjoy a successful transition into adulthood. Closing gaps in educational access and quality is key to ensuring the future workforce can compete and build or continue the cycle of success and independence.

Child Care

Source:
¹ Department of Health and Human Services.
² U.S. Census 2023 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimate, Table B23008.
³ 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health.

Child care subsidy (2023)

Source: Department of Health and Human Services

Step Up To Quality

Nebraska Step Up to Quality is an Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) passed by the Nebraska Legislature in 2013. The primary goal of Nebraska Step Up to Quality is to improve early care and education quality and increase positive outcomes for young children. This is done through informing parents about quality early care and education programs in understandable and measurable ways. In addition, it improves teacher and director effectiveness through training and professional development, formal education, and coaching. It also emphasizes strengthening the understanding and use of standards, assessment processes, and using data to improve quality.

Step 1: The program has completed the application to participate in Step Up to Quality, staff members have submitted a professional record, and the program director has completed orientation.

Step 2: The program director completed several trainings related to safety, child health and early learning and management as well as several self assessments related to child development knowledge.

Steps 3-5: Once programs achieve Step 2, they are eligible for coaching services. Early childhood coaches help guide programs as they set goals to make program improvements. During the rating process, programs earn points in the following standard areas: curriculum, learning environments & interactions, child outcomes, professional development and training, family engagement & partnerships, and program administration. Steps 3-5 ratings are determined by the number of points achieved.

Source: Nebraska Office of Early Childhood Education

The Early Development Network (EDN) serves families with children born with disabilities.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Nebraska State Performance Plan Annual Performance Report, FFY 2022.

Source: 2023 Office of Head Start Program Information Reports

Sixpence serves children birth to age 3 who are at risk of failure in school and is funded through public and private dollars.

Source: Sixpence Early Learning Fund 2023-24 Annual Report

K-12 Student Characteristics

Source: Nebraska Department of Education

Free-Reduced Meals

English Language Arts Proficiency

Reading is a fundamental skill that affects learning experiences and school performance of children and teens. The ability to read proficiently translates to a greater likelihood of performing well in other subjects. Children with lower reading achievement are less likely to be engaged in the classroom, graduate high school, and attend college.

Source: Child Trends, Reading Proficiency

3rd Grade

8th Grade

11th Grade

Math Proficiency

Math skills are essential for functioning in everyday life, as well as for future success in our increasingly technical workplace. Students who take higher courses in mathematics are more likely to attend and complete college. Those with limited math skills are more likely to find it difficult to function in everyday society and have lower levels of employability.

Source: Child Trends, Mathematics Proficiency.

5th Grade

8th Grade

11th Grade

Science Proficiency

Proficiency in science helps prepare students to go on to highly skilled professions. Having a strong foundation in the sciences allows students to work in today’s high-demand fields. Students with a greater understanding of sciences learn how to better protect the environment and increase the health and security of people throughout the world.

Source: Child Trends, Science Proficiency

5th Grade

8th Grade

11th Grade

Absences and Career-Readiness

Career Readiness (2023)

Sources:
¹ National Student Clearinghouse Research Center
² Nebraska Department of Education.
³ The Annie E Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Center.

Graduation and Educational Savings

Source: Nebraska Department of Education.
*Extended 5th year graduation rate is the percent of students who graduated within five years rather than the standard four.

Nebraska Education Savings Plan Trust (NEST)
(as of December 31, 2023)

In the 2019 Legislative Session, lawmakers approved the Meadowlark Act, which creates a college savings account with an initial seed deposit for every baby born in Nebraska on or after January 1, 2020, in addition to an incentive match payment for college savings contributions made by low-income families. Research shows that similar early investments in educational savings result in improved long-term educational outcomes, particularly for children in lower-income families.

Source: Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office

Our children, communities, and state are stronger when all of Nebraska’s families are able to participate fully in the workforce and establish financial security. We must ensure that families are able to meet their children’s basic needs and achieve financial security. A robust system of supports should help families make ends meet as they work toward financial independence.

Hardworking families should have a fair share in the success of our state’s economy. When families need assistance in meeting the basic needs of their children, public benefit programs should work efficiently and be easy for families to use. Parents should not have to choose between the job they need and the family they love. All families should have the opportunity to invest in their children’s future and be able to access community resources that are well funded by fair tax policies.

Poverty

Family structure and poverty (2023)

Source: U.S. Census, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Table B17006, S1001.

Source:
¹ U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Table B17001
² U.S. Census, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Table B17024

Making Ends Meet

Nebraskans pride themselves on being hard-working people. In 2023, 78.1% of children in our state had all available parents in the workforce.¹ Unfortunately, having high labor force participation doesn’t always translate into family economic stability.

The chart at right illustrates the gap between low-wage earnings and the amount needed to provide for a two-adult family with two children. It assumes that both adults work full-time (40 hours a week), year-round (52 weeks per year). That means no vacation, no sick time, just work.

The federal poverty level doesn’t describe what it takes for working families to make ends meet. For that, we turn to the Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard (FESS). The FESS uses average costs, like fair median rent and the average price of a basic menu of food, to calculate what a family needs to earn to meet its basic needs without any form of private or public assistance. It does not include luxuries like dining out or saving for the future.

¹ U.S. Census, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Table B23008

Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) (2023)

Housing & Homelessness

Homelessness

The Nebraska Homeless Assistance Program (NHAP) and the Housing and Urban Development Program (HUD) serve individuals who are experiencing homelessness or nearhomeless. Not all people experiencing homelessness receive services.

In 2023, HUD/NHAP served:

Source: U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

Homeownership

Homeownership provides a sense of stability for children and communities.

Sources:
¹ U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Table B25115.
² U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates, Table B25070.

Hunger

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Household Food Security in the United States in 2023.

Approximately 105,393 households in Nebraska were food-insecure in 2023. Food-insecure means that someone in the household has disrupted their eating patterns or reduced their intake of food because there was not enough food in the house to eat.

Source: Feeding America, Map the Meal Gap, Child Food Insecurity in Nebraska, 2022.

SNAP & WIC

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the United States. It provides nutrition assistance to low-income individuals and families through benefits that can be used to purchase food at grocery stores, farmers markets, and other places where groceries are sold.

Source: Characteristics of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—known as WIC—aims to improve the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age five who are at nutritional risk. The program provides nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to healthcare.

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

Custody

Marriage and divorce (2023)

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Informal Kinship Care

Child support (SFY 2023) Children are considered to be in informal kinship care if they are not living with a parent or foster parent and are not living independently.

Sources:
¹ Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count Data Center.
² U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Table DP02.

Child support (SFY 2023)

Custodial parents who do not receive child support payments they are owed by non-custodial parents may seek assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services. Assistance is provided by Child Support Enforcement (CSE).

*If the custodial parent is receiving ADC, the state may collect child support from the non-custodial parent as reimbursement. Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Employment, Income, and Assets

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates, Table B23008.

Transportation & Taxes

Federal Tax Credits (2022)

Source: Nebraska Department of Revenue.

state Tax Credits (2023)

Source: Nebraska Department of Revenue.

Sources:
¹ U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates, Table C08141.
² U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 American Community Survey 1-year Estimates, Table B08201.

Keeping our children and youth safe is essential to their healthy development. Children deserve to grow up in safe, permanent, and loving homes. An effective child welfare system works to strengthen families and minimize trauma through timely and appropriate action. Families should be connected to resources in their community that strengthen their abilities to care for their children through a robust network of evidence-based services focusing on child abuse and neglect prevention that are able to meet families where they are. When children do enter the child welfare system, they are entitled to retain ties to their family, culture, and community.

The administration and staff of agencies should reflect the diversity of the populations they serve and work in a way that honors children’s unique heritage and cultural protective factors. Services must be trauma-informed, individualized, timely, and ongoing to maintain safety, well-being, and permanency.

Child Maltreatment

Federal law defines child maltreatment, otherwise known as abuse and neglect, as “any act or failure to act that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, or any act or failure to act that represents an imminent risk of serious harm.” In Nebraska, the vast majority (85%) of maltreatment is physical neglect, which is a failure to meet a child’s basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing. This is, in many cases, an economic issue.

Why should we be concerned?

Exposure to childhood abuse and neglect hinders children’s healthy social, emotional, and cognitive development. If untreated, toxic stress makes it more likely that children will adopt risky behaviors which negatively impact their future health and success. Given the impacts, we need to strengthen families to prevent abuse and neglect whenever possible, and take swift, thoughtful action to ensure that all children grow up in loving homes.

Child Abuse and Neglect Reports (2023)

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Safety Assessments (2023)

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Entries & Involvement

Alternative Response & Tribal Youth

The Omaha Tribe, the Santee Sioux Nation, and the Winnebago Tribe have agreements with the State of Nebraska’s Department of Children and Family Services to provide child welfare services to tribal members within the boundaries of their reservations.

These cases are under the jurisdiction of Tribal Courts and fully managed by the tribes’ child welfare departments. The Tribal Youth data contained on this page are from DHHS and represent the services provided under those agreements.

Alternative Response

The majority of children who come into Nebraska’s child welfare system are identified because their family is unable to meet their basic needs, which is often related to symptoms of poverty. Alternative Response brings more flexibility to our state response to child maltreatment in certain low- or moderate-risk cases by allowing caseworkers to focus on harnessing the strengths of each family and building parental capacity through intensive supports and services.

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Race & Ethnicity in Child Welfare

Placements & Staff Cases

Out-of-Home Placements

When children must be removed from their homes, it is important to ensure that their placement reduces the trauma of removal and promotes the well-being of the child. Congregate care, which places children in an institutional setting such as a group home or detention center, should be used minimally for out-of-home placements.

Research shows that placement in a family-like setting provides children with improved long-term outcomes in physical and emotional health. Although congregate care may be necessary for some children, for many others, it does not allow children to maintain the strong relationships with trusted adults that are essential for successful development.

There are three types of foster parents in Nebraska:

Relative foster homes: Foster parents who are related to the child or children whom they care for by blood, marriage, or adoption.

Kinship foster homes: Foster parents who have a significant pre-existing relationship with the child or children for whom they care. (Ex: former teacher, coach, or neighbor.)

Licensed foster homes: Foster parents who live at the licensed residence and care for a child or children who they have not previously known.

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Placement Stability

Multiple Placements

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services counts placement changes when a child moves from one foster care setting to another. Children in stable homes are reported to receive more attention, acceptance, affection, and better care from their foster parents. Children who are in stabilized homes are more likely to receive therapy, are less delinquent and oppositional/aggressive, and are more likely to be placed with competent and caring foster parents.

Source: University of Illinois, Child and Family Research Center, Placement Stability Study, 1999.

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Permanency

Exiting the System

Once in the child welfare system, children should be on a track toward achieving permanency in a safe, loving environment. Most of the time, that means they will be reunified with their family and return home. Other times, permanency may be achieved through adoption or guardianship.

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Aging Out

Family support is key to any successful transition into adulthood, especially for youth who may have been exposed to trauma. Learning to be self-reliant in seeking employment and housing, managing finances, or seeking healthcare can be daunting without family connections. For youth who have been in foster care who do not exit the system to a family, ensuring a strong system of support in this transition is key. The Bridge to Independence (B2i) program works to address this issue. B2i serves youth who must be either working, seeking work, or are in school. In return, they receive Medicaid coverage, a monthly stipend to use for living expenses, and an assigned caseworker on call 24/7 to help them navigate the transition to adulthood.

Bridge to independence program (2023)

*Data suppressed due to privacy protection.
Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

Keeping our children and youth safe is essential to their healthy development. Youth should be held accountable for their actions in developmentally appropriate ways that promote community safety and allow them to grow into responsible citizens.

When youth act out, they should be held accountable primarily by families, schools, and communities, avoiding contact with the juvenile justice system if at all possible. Youth entering and already in the juvenile justice system are entitled to be safe, and their rights must be respected. Retaining strong connections to family, community, and culture help youth thrive within the system. The juvenile justice system should be rehabilitative in nature and designed specifically for youth.

Arrests

Sources:
¹ Nebraska Crime Commission
² Nebraska Crime Commission; Douglas County Juvenile Justice Intiative.

Status Offenses

“Status offenses” are non-criminal behaviors, like skipping school, that could not be charged but for the “status” of being a minor.

Disproportionate Minority Contact

Despite the promise of equal protection under the law, national research shows that youth of color are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. This overrepresentation often is a product of decisions made at early points of contact with the juvenile justice system. Where racial differences are found to exist, they tend to accumulate as youth are processed deeper into the system.¹

Unfortunately, our juvenile justice system lacks uniform ways of collecting data on race and ethnicity. Although disparities exist across system points, different agencies have different ways of counting Hispanic youth in particular. Additional information on the race and ethnicity of youth arrested, on probation, and in adult prison are available elsewhere in this section.

Source:
¹ “And Justice for Some: Differential Treatment of Youth of Color in the Juvenile Justice System,” National Council on Crime and Delinquency, (January 2007).

Sources:
U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Annual State Resident Population Estimates for 6 Race Groups (5 Race Alone Groups and Two or More Races) by Age, Sex, and Hispanic Origin: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023.
Nebraska Juvenile Justice System, Statistical Annual Report 2023.
Analysis based on data from individual facilities including Lancaster County Detention Center, Northeast Nebraska Juvenile Services, Douglas County Youth Center, and The Patrick J. Thomas Juvenile Justice Center.
Nebraska Crime Comission, Juvenile Diversion in Nebraska 2023 Annual Report.
Department of Health and Human Services.

Pre-Trial Diversion

Juvenile Diversion Program

Pretrial diversion programs are based on the belief that many juvenile cases are better handled outside of the courthouse doors. These voluntary programs are designed to provide eligible youth an opportunity to demonstrate rehabilitation and make things right with the community, while reducing the cost and burden to taxpayers and courts that come with formal charges being filed. By successfully completing his or her diversion plan, a minor has the opportunity to avoid formal charges in the court and get all record of the matter sealed. By diverting these cases from the court system, counties save significant dollars, making successful diversion programs a win-win.

Source: Nebraska Crime Commission, Juvenile Diversion in Nebraska 2023 Annual Report.

Community-based juvenile services aid program
(SFY 2023)

Funded through the Community-Based Juvenile Services Aid Program:

Source: Nebraska Crime Commission, Community-Based Juvenile Services Aid Program Annual Report 2023.

Juvenile Court Cases

Access to Counsel

Juvenile Access to Counsel

Having an attorney present during proceedings in the juvenile justice system is not only important for youth but a guaranteed constitutional right. The right to counsel is also enshrined in Nebraska statute 43-272(1). The law is meant to protect children at every stage of legal proceedings and requires the court to advise youth, along with their parents, of their right to an attorney and that legal counsel can be provided at no cost if they are unable to afford it.

Source: Nebraska Juvenile Justice System, Statistical Annual Report 2022.

Probation

Source: Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation

Mean length of time on probation (2023)

Youth in Out-of-Home Care

Detention

Number of youth held in juvenile dentention facilities (2023)

Research associates room confinement with serious consequences for mental and physical health including: – “Increased risk of selfharm and suicidal ideation; – Greater anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, paranoia, and aggression; Exacerbation of the on-set of pre-existing mental illness and trauma symptoms; and, Increased risk of cardiovascular-related health problems.”1 Regulations, policies, and practices on when, how, and why juvenile room confinement is used differ among types of facilities.

Room confinement should be used as the absolute last resort and only in cases of threats of safety to the individual or other residents and only after other interventions have failed. Room confinement should be timelimited; the youth should be released as soon as they are safely able and should never last longer than 24 hours. During confinement, the youth should be closely monitored and seen by mental health professionals. All instances of room confinement should be recorded and reviewed.

Source: Haney, C. The Psychological Impact of Incarceration on Post-Prison Adjustment. Prison to Home: The Effect of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities, 2001.

Youth Treated as Adults

Source: Nebraska Judicial Branch, Juvenile Justice System Statistical Annual Report 2023.

A motion to transfer from juvenile court to adult court in 2023 was:

A motion to transfer from adult court to juvenile court in 2023 was:

Source: Nebraska Judicial Branch, Juvenile Justice System Statistical Annual Report 2023.

An age-appropriate response

Research consistently indicates that treating children as adults neither acts as a deterrent, nor does it prevent crime or reduce violence. Instead, prosecution in adult court exposes youth to more risks and delays or prevents treatment and can burden them with permanent records which may act as barriers to future education and employment opportunities. Nebraska law requires that all children age 17 or younger charged with a misdemeanor or low-level felony must have their cases originate in juvenile court. This means that many more children are now receiving the benefit of speedy access to treatment services, a developmentally-appropriate court process aimed at rehabilitation, and the potential to have their records sealed to set them up for a brighter future.

youth in adult prisons and jails (2023)

Source: Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.