The passage of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act would be a momentous victory for children and families both nationally in Nebraska. The bill would allow federal dollars to be invested in efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect, while also enhancing supports for family-like placements and for older…...
Urge your Member of Congress to put Nebraska’s families first!
Last week, the Family First Prevention Services Act (H.R. 5456) advanced from the House Ways and Means Committee unanimously and its Senate companion bill (S. 3065) was introduced days later. The bipartisan and bicameral proposal would reform federal child welfare funding mechanisms to support prevention efforts and to reduce congregate…...
Bipartisan Movements in Federal Child Welfare Legislation
With the 2016 session of the Nebraska Legislature just around the corner, our policy team is gearing up to continue building pathways to opportunity for children in our state. Although much of our work at Voices is centered on advancing policies in the Unicameral, we also monitor federal legislation that…...
Supporting Informal Kinship Families in Nebraska
Children thrive in a stable and loving home with a family that offers support in a safe environment. Research tells us that the relationships that children have with the adults in their lives are an extremely important component of successful development. Without these relationships, children have an increased risk of lasting health, behavioral, and…...
SPARC: What’s next for child welfare in Nebraska?
Last week, just a few days after attending the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT conference in Baltimore with hundreds of child advocates from across the country, I found myself in a much smaller room in Washington D.C. for the convening of the State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center (SPARC)…...
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…...
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