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.
State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s policy environment and the numerous efforts — by those listed on this page and many others — who worked 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 34% (79,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (2021). This number represents a decrease from 39% (92,000) in 2016.1
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
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed the state’s fiscal 2024- 2025 biennial budget bill on May 24. The two-year budget calls 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 is estimated at $5.35 billion in fiscal 2024 (a 4.3 percent increase from fiscal 2023) and $5.37 billion in fiscal 2025 (a 0.3 percent increase from fiscal 2024).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.
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
First Five Nebraska’s biggest accomplishment was working with a policymaker champion on a series of tax credit programs. LB318, which was eventually amended into LB754, creates the Child Care Tax Credit Act, which offers a refundable credit to qualifying families with children in care and a nonrefundable credit to taxpaying individuals or entities (such as businesses) who make a qualifying contribution to build early childhood infrastructure, with a special emphasis on communities facing significant economic challenges. This bill also reinstates and improves upon the School Readiness Tax Credit Act, which offers a refundable credit to self-employed child care providers and staff, and a nonrefundable credit for programs serving families through the child care subsidy. Thanks in part to First Five Nebraska’s advocacy, the bill passed and was signed by the Governor.
In 2021, the Nebraska Legislature approved LB485, which temporarily increased families’ income eligibility for the child care subsidy from 130% to 185% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Under the original legislation, the income eligibility requirements were scheduled to expire in October 2023. First Five Nebraska worked with policymakers and other advocacy organizations to introduce LB35 (with that bill amended in to LB277), which extends the expiration date to October 2026. LB227 passed and was signed into law on June 6, 2023.
The Maternal and Child Death Review Team was established to advise the Governor, Legislature and public on policies and practices to better prevent these tragic outcomes. This session, First Five Nebraska worked with a policymaker champion to introduce LB75, which allows this team to collect and analyze data related to severe maternal morbidity. This bill was eventually amended into LB277, which passed.
LB814, the mainline appropriations bill, preserves existing funding streams for early childhood programming. It also allocates $166,199 each fiscal year to the State Patrol’s budget request for two additional staff members to conduct crucial criminal background checks. Advocates spoke up for this legislation, and our hope is that this additional funding to the State Patrol will help process background checks for child care employees more quickly.
First Five Nebraska worked closely with several senators to introduce legislative resolutions for four upcoming interim studies.
In addition, First Five Nebraska worked with policymakers to introduce LB114, a bill that would increase the existing line item in the state budget for home visiting from $1.1 million to $2 million for FY2023 -24 and FY2024-25. This increase in state funding would have also maximized federal matching funds offered through the MIECHV program. Although LB114 was included in the approved mainline budget bill, the governor issued a line-item veto on the home visiting funding increase, which was not selected for an override attempt by the Legislature. Our goal is to reintroduce this legislation in the next session.
The Alliance’s lead grantee in Nebraska, 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
Early Intervention
Infant and Child Health
Maternal Health
Home Visiting
Family Economic Security
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Early Childhood Finance and Cost Modeling
Early Childhood Governance
Data Systems
Click here for more information on advocates’ 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, November, 2022
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, Summaries of Fiscal Year 2024 Enacted Budgets, October 11, 2023.
4 Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, July 2023
5 National Conference of State Legislatures, 2023 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, February 28, 2023.
6 Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, retrieved May, 2023.
7 Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, April, 2022.
8 Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-August, 2023.
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The Alliance for Early Success does not endorse or advocate for specific legislation or candidates.
