Nebraska, like all states, has a unique early childhood policy landscape that is shaped by economics, demographics, political history, coalitions, and other factors that create a state-specific environment for policy advocacy.
State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s environment and the numerous efforts—by the organizations listed on this page, other organizations, parents, policymakers, practitioners, and more—who work both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.
Research shows that family economic security is foundational to children’s overall wellbeing. Research also shows that widespread disparities in opportunity (especially by race) drive wide disparities in outcomes. States with policies that offer strong support to young children and their families are more likely to see 1) declining numbers of children in low-income households and 2) low racial disparity among those children.
Young Children in Low-Income Households: Declining
Approximately 35% (76,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (2022). This number represents a decrease from 39% (90,000) in 2017.1
Racial Disparity Among Young Children Living in Low-Income Households: High
Black, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native children aged 0-8 are significantly more likely to be living in households below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations: Growing
During the 2023 legislative session, Nebraska enacted a biennial budget for fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025. The two-year budget called for $15.34 billion in total spending in fiscal 2024 (a 2.7 percent increase from fiscal 2023) and $15.23 billion in total spending in fiscal 2025 (a 0.7 percent decrease from fiscal 2024). General fund spending was estimated at $5.37 billion in fiscal 2025 (a 0.3 percent increase from fiscal 2024). On April 2, 2024, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed a mid-biennium adjustment bill. According to the Appropriations Committee Budget Proposal, the enacted budget adjustment raises general fund appropriations for fiscal 2024-25 by $73 million to $5.44 billion. The adjustments fully fund the state’s education formula and provide virtually no other increases to the budget that was passed in 2023. Total general fund revenues for fiscal 2024-25 are forecasted at $5.84 billion. The ending General Fund Reserve balance for fiscal 2024-25 is projected to be $928 million.3
Largest FY 2021 Per Capita Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):4
Nebraska uses all major state and local taxes. Charges are public payments connected with a specific government service, such as tuition paid to a state university, payments to a public hospital, or highway tolls.
State Budget Rules:4
Nebraska has an early learning endowment called the Sixpence Early Learning Fund. A public-private venture, the fund was established with $20 million from the private sector and a $40 million state investment. The earnings of this combined fund is granted to community partnerships focused on high-quality early learning services for infants and toddlers from traditionally under-resourced communities. Yearly disbursements typically total $2-3 million.
Political Alignment: N/A
Nebraska has a unique, unicameral, nonpartisan legislature. The state’s Governor was a Republican.5
Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:6 Five
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:7
Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:8
Advocates worked with the Governor’s office to introduce and pass portions of LB1416, which creates two child care grant programs. The Child Care Capacity Building and Workforce Grant Program and the Family Child Care Home Grant Program are designed to support the child care workforce, child care programs and working families. Although reduced revenue receipts forced the Legislature to remove funding for the grant programs in the final bill language, creating the infrastructure for these grant programs was still a win. Portions of LB1416 were amended to LB164 which passed the Legislature with overwhelming support and was approved by the Governor. Advocates are working to secure funding in the upcoming session.
LB856, as amended, will allow a child care program to receive subsidy reimbursement for children under the direct care of their own parents who are employed by the program. This is particularly common in smaller programs with limited staff when employees cannot be reasonably kept separate from their own children. The amended version of the bill also allows licensed child care providers who meet the subsidy eligibility requirements to enroll their own children in other programs to receive subsidized care. The amended version of LB856 passed and was approved by the Governor. First Five Nebraska will also work with the introducer of the bill on an interim study that will examine the use of the child care subsidy program as an incentive to recruit and retain employees in the child care industry.
Numerous organizations worked together to support LB874, which clarifies a number of state licensing requirements to allow for a more seamless operation of child care and requires a report to the Legislature on licensing regulations promulgated by state agencies. It also standardizes a number of local regulations regarding oversight of child care and provides for consistency in the permissive exemption of property taxes for educational purposes. These improvements to the child care regulatory environment passed and were approved by the Governor.
LB904 allows the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to determine child care subsidy reimbursements by assessing both market rates and costs of providing care. The bill also establishes the 75th percentile of the market rate as the baseline for subsidy reimbursement. LB1178 was also amended into LB904. LB1178 creates the Intergenerational Care Facility Incentive Grant Program that allows eligible applicants to make capital improvements and purchase materials or equipment necessary to co-locate child care programs with nursing home and assisted living facilities. LB904 passed and was approved by the Governor.
LB1124, which was amended into the budget bill, LB1412, appropriates $900K per year over two fiscal years from the Medicaid Managed Care Excess Profit Fund to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services so more families can access evidence-based early intervention home visiting programs.
The Alliance’s lead ally in the Cornhusker state, First Five Nebraska (FFN), works with public and private stakeholders to advance early childhood policies that create educational, social and economic opportunity for all Nebraskans. FFN builds strategic relationships with educators, business leaders, economic developers, state agencies, public officials, and others to develop accountable, cross-sector investments that improve developmental outcomes, address the needs of families with young children, strengthen the professional early childhood workforce, and grow prosperous communities throughout the state.
First Five Nebraska is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:
Child Care
Child Care Workforce
Pre-School and Pre-K
Early Intervention (0-3)
Infant and Child Health
Maternal Health
Home Visiting
Family Economic Security
Early Childhood Finance and Cost Modeling
Early Childhood Governance
Data Systems
Click here for more information on their policy agenda.
Nebraska has been awarded a Preschool Development Birth through Five renewal grant from the federal Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, and Alliance ally First Five Nebraska played a big role in this crucial win for their state’s children.
NOTES:
1 Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, January, 2024.
2 National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, March 2023, NCCP analysis of ACS 1-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2021.
3 National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2025.
4 Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, June 2024.
5 National Conference of State Legislatures, 2024 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, April 29, 2024.
6 Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, retrieved July, 2024.
7 Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.
8 Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2024; and 2024 Prenatal-to-3 Legislative Highlights, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, July, 2024.
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The Alliance for Early Success does not endorse or advocate for specific legislation or candidates.
