On Monday afternoon, Nebraska took one step closer to deciding how best to use its $1.04 billion allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding with the adoption of AM2580 into LB1014, which was referred out of the Appropriations Committee earlier this month....
Posts by: First Five Nebraska
LB1203 is a one-time opportunity to stabilize Nebraska’s struggling early childhood infrastructure
LB1203, which would use a portion of Nebraska’s $1 billion allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (APRA) dollars to strengthen the state’s early childhood system, was heard by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee this week. The bill was introduced by State...
Monitor early childhood legislation using new website features
With nearly 600 new bills introduced this session and approximately 500 carryover bills from last year, the 2022 Nebraska legislative session is shaping up to be remarkably active one for state policymakers. Among the legislation being considered in the Unicameral...
Policy Leadership Academy focuses on navigating the legislative process
With the 2022 legislative session now in full swing, the Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) focused its January workshop on how citizen advocates can influence the policymaking process in state government. The online event featured a slate of...
Child care professionals: Apply now for the School Readiness Tax Credit
Note: The School Readiness Tax Credit program ended with the 2021 tax year. First Five Nebraska is exploring legislation to reinstate the tax credits to provide these important financial supports for child care providers. Nebraska licensed child care professionals,...
Chamber economic development panel: Child care is crucial to addressing workforce crisis
High-quality child care and early education bolsters Nebraska's businesses, helps grow local economies and supports working parents while providing safe, nurturing environments for young children. That was the message from a panel led by First Five Nebraska at the...
Policy Leadership Academy session focuses on driving change at the local level
Organize, activate, sustain. This is the framework for driving meaningful change at the local level through effective advocacy—especially our efforts to grow more vibrant communities for young children and their families. Last week, nearly 40 members of the 2021-22...
Policy Fellows Program seeks connections between early childhood research, policy
First Five Nebraska policy staff and early childhood researchers from all five University of Nebraska campuses kicked off the second cohort of the Policy Fellows Program recently. The Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research (NAECR) and First Five Nebraska began...
Policy Advisor Sara Howard offers policy options on maternal depression
Maternal depression is the most common pregnancy and postpartum complication in America, impacting one in every seven women who cease to be pregnant.[1] Even with those statistics, many provider groups agree that this condition remains underdiagnosed, which means even...
FFN testifies at LR221 hearing on maternal and infant mortality and morbidity
First Five Nebraska Policy Advisor Sara Howard testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee at a recent hearing on LR221, Senator Tony Vargas’ interim study of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. Panel created after record...
FFN testifies on using ARPA to invest in early childhood workforce
FFN Director Jason Prokop said ARPA funds can help stabilize Nebraska’s early childhood workforce in testimony before the Appropriations Committee this week.
2021-22 Policy Leadership Academy kicks off in Kearney
Nebraska’s statewide community of early childhood policy advocates just got larger. This past week, the 2021-22 class of the Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) kicked off in Kearney after a one-year pause in the program due to the onset of...












