High-quality early childhood education plays an important role in economic development in Nebraska

Join us at the Thriving Children 2019 conference September 16 to learn more!

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First Five Nebraska testifies on early childhood bills

Child care provider background checks, provider tax credits, child care subsidy & a new funding path for early childhood infrastructure are among issues we've testified on to date.

Read our testimony & issue briefs

A capable workforce is built on executive function

From computers to construction, finance to farming, early executive function development supports the skill base Nebraska employers need in every aspect of business and industry.

LB590 Becomes Law

It streamlines child care licensing using NECPRS, the existing online Nebraska Early Childhood Professional Record System, to track care providers' credentials.

Making Smart Investments

"The most expensive thing in early childhood is poor quality care with no return on investment." — Dr. Jack P. Shonkoff, Director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, addressing Nebraska legislators, business leaders and school administrators. (Photo: Tom Kates)

How Do We Know When Kids Are Ready for Kindergarten?

Children's ability to identify numbers and letters along with possessing a working vocabulary often are used as benchmarks to assess school readiness, but they don't tell the whole story.

Improving Quality of Care

Children in 411 Nebraska child care programs are benefiting from their providers' participation in our state's quality improvement and rating system. More children now will enter kindergarten ready to learn, and that's good news for children, parents, providers and taxpayers.

“I believe we can achieve meaningful change that will allow both employees and businesses to grow our economy. We owe it to the American people to discover shared solutions that can lead to stronger families and communities.”

Deb Fischer
Nebraska U.S. Senator

An investment in high-quality early childhood education not only levels the playing field for our at-risk children, it yields more stable communities, a more qualified workforce, reduced crime rate and greater social cohesion long term.

Senator John Stinner
Legislative District 48

"Almost daily, a Chamber member expresses concern about their current or future workforce needs. We need to maximize the skills of every child in Nebraska to build a sufficient, skilled talent pool for the future."

K.C. Belitz
Chief Operating Officer, Nebraska Community Foundation

"We know that early, enriched environments maximize the interaction between biology and experience, and positively influence a child's developmental trajectory with lifelong consequences for health and well-being."

Dr. Cynthia Ellis
Omaha Pediatrician