Are you passionate about shaping public policy and creating lasting change in your community? The Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA), a premier leadership development program, is excited to announce that applications for the 2025-26 cohort will...
This blog post is being updated as bills move through the legislative process. We are now more than halfway through the legislative session. Hearings have concluded, and full-day floor debate has begun. Speaker Arch, state senators and committees have identified their...
Kelly Mackling is clinical nurse manager at the Visiting Nurse Association in Omaha. She testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee in support of LB22, State Senator George Dungan's bill to allow home visiting programs to bill...
Dez Brandt is program manager of Healthy Families America home visiting program in the Panhandle Public Health District. She testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee in support of LB104, State Senator Jane Raybould's bill...
Dr. Ann Anderson Berry is a faculty member of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Medical Director of the Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPQIC). She testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on...
Members of the Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy (PLA) Class 6 spent the day at the Nebraska Capitol February 5th engaging with their State Senators. Their focus? Advocating for key bills and policies that impact maternal health and child care—two...
The 109th legislative session is in full swing! State senators have introduced nearly 730 bills and constitutional amendments. Although the Governor has the authority to introduce legislation at any point during a session, with the hundreds of pieces of legislation...
Dr. Bob Rauner testified before the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee this fall on LR433, an interim study introduced by State Senator Jen Day (District 49) to examine the availability and access to data regarding maternal health and infant...
Newborn screening enables early identification of conditions that might not be immediately apparent but, if left undetected, can have serious, lifelong consequences to a child’s long-term health and well-being. “Newborn screening can detect conditions that do not show...
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) has released its report on Nebraska Severe Maternal Morbidity (SMM) based on SMM data from 2017 to 2021. Cases of SMM, defined as “unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in significant short-...
First Five Nebraska is looking forward to working on interim studies with state senators over the next several months. Senators and legislative committees may introduce resolutions to take a closer look at topics of interest after the Legislature adjourns for the...
The Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die Thursday, April 18, ending this year’s 60-day session. First Five Nebraska was fortunate to work with state senators and Governor Pillen to introduce and pass several pieces of early childhood legislation that will...