Nearly 700 civic, business and education leaders, from 99 Nebraska communities, 20 states and Washington, D.C., came together for the third annual Thriving Children, Families, and Communities conference Monday to focus on quality early childhood programs, which became even more critical with the pandemic and their connection to community economic development and vitality.
Category: Issues
FFN’s Policy Leadership Academy plans to recruit next class in spring 2021
First Five Nebraska, in partnership with Communities for Kids, launched the Nebraska Early Childhood Policy Leadership Academy in 2019 to engage policymakers on early childhood policy at the state level and in their communities.
Elevate20: A virtual business Summit for child care providers is now live!
Elevate20 is a business conference designed specifically to meet the needs of Nebraska family child care homes and child care centers in the areas of technology, human resources, marketing, leadership and finances. The conference is online and on-demand this year and is live through September 12.
Lack of child care costs Nebraskans $745 million per year, report finds
A new study by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Bureau of Business Research for First Five Nebraska finds that gaps in child care availability negatively impact family income, employer profitability and state revenue.
Nebraska Legislature: 2020 early childhood policy highlights
The 106th Nebraska Legislature adjourned sine die August 13. Here's an overview and summary of bills affecting early childhood policy from this year's session.
School readiness tax credit program revised to benefit more child care providers
Governor Ricketts signs LB266 into law, giving self-employed child care providers and those classified as S-Corps access to the school readiness tax credit, as intended in the original legislation.
FFN to work with senators on two interim studies
FFN will work with Senator DeBoer and Senator Stinner on interim studies this year, looking at accessing services through the Early Development Network and the fiscal and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nebraska's early childhood workforce and early childhood care and education system.
Statewide campaign highlights relationship between quality child care and economic development
First Five Nebraska launched My Nebraska Story this week, a statewide campaign inviting business leaders, economic developers and others to become involved in strengthening the availability of quality child care in their communities.
Nebraska Legislature reconvenes July 20
The Legislatlure will reconvene July 20 for the final 17 days of this year's session, which was suspended in March due to COVID-19 emergency. Here's a look at what the remainder of the session holds and the status of bills FFN supports.
Education Stabilization Funds in the CARES Act: What it means for Nebraska
The CARES Act, signed into law last month, recognizes the urgency of our nation’s educational needs and earmarks $30.75 billion of Education Stabilization Funds for relief to states to help their education systems recover. Here's what that means for Nebraska.
Community assistance funding for COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, communities across Nebraska are responding on the local level through creation of community-driven programs for families, businesses and nonprofits who are impacted. Some of these programs respond directly to the needs of early childhood professionals, while others support the economic viability of local businesses. As a local provider, we encourage you to reach out to your local chambers of commerce or economic development corporations to see how you can be included in local business programs.
COVID-19: State agency updates
Learn the latest news from Nebraska state agencies.








