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April 18, 2024

From the Policy Desk...

The End of the 2024 Session: A Word from our Executive Director

This year's short session has officially wrapped, and at Voices for Children, we are taking time to reflect with gratitude on the victories for kids that were pushed forward by hard work, collaboration, and the efforts of senators, staff, advocates, and citizens alike.

Short sessions can feel like a whirlwind: somehow both the fastest and longest 60 days. From the outside, it may seem like a chaotic frenzy of bill numbers and calls to action, without rhyme or reason on the timing or inside politics.

Our skilled policy team of advocates works from experience and commitment to our core values, to bring clarity and focus on issues that will make a critical difference to kids and families. We bring a longstanding reputation for reliable, nonpartisan information, and build partnerships across the political spectrum in order to lift up youth voice and family needs.

Over the course of this session, our small but mighty policy team weighed in on a total of 40 bills pertaining to our issue area pillars: Economic Stability, Health, Child Welfare, and Juvenile Justice.

You can find a full accounting of all these bills on the 2024 Policy Page on our website; we have highlighted just a handful for you below.

Our team has worked so hard, every day since January 3rd, to move the policy victories for kids you will find outlined here. My hat is off to them, and to all the senators and staff in our Nebraska State Legislature who show up to do the people's work, with a full heart for Nebraska kids.

Finally, none of this would be possible without your support, your voice, your willingness to stand up and reach out to your legislator expressing the importance of children's issues.

Thank you for all YOU do to make our state the best place to grow up.

Warmly,

Juliet Summers

Executive Director

Economic Stability

Checkmark LB 233 (J. Cavanugh) – Provide for child support payment disregard under the Aid to Dependent Children Program and pass-through of certain child support payments

Passed.
Allows very low-income families participating in ADC to keep part of their court-ordered child support and also allows for a disregard of some child support in their ADC budget to increase benefits.

Checkmark LB 952 (Day) – Require DHHS to implement the federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer Program

Bill did not advance from the committee as the Governor decided to move forward with Summer EBT without a legislative bill!
Voices for Children testified in support on 2/1/2024 and worked in coalition to encourage the administration to sign on to the federal program.

Close LB 1381 (Hansen) – Provide work requirements for recipients of SNAP Program

Did not advance from HHS Committee.
Voices for Children opposed, because it would have created additional barriers for Native Americans accessing SNAP on reservations in Thurston County Nebraska and added ineffective and expensive work requirements for many Nebraskans.

Checkmark LB 840 (McKinney) – Adopt the Poverty Elimination Action Plan Act and change provisions of the Middle-Income Workforce Investment Act and the Nebraska Housing Agency Act

Passed.
Requires larger cities in Nebraska to address poverty on a local level and create a plan to address it.

Checkmark LB 856 (Fredrickson) – Change eligibility requirement for the federal childcare subsidy program

Passed.
As amended, will open access to childcare assistance for the dependents of certain childcare workers, aimed at attracting and retaining more workers into the child care industry.

Health

Checkmark LB 855 (Conrad) – Prohibit school districts from taking certain actions relating to outstanding debts on school lunch or breakfast account

Passed via amendment to LB 1329.
Lincoln Public Schools, which was sending the most families to collections, voluntarily ended the practice after the hearing.

Checkmark LB 1029 (Conrad) – Change provisions relating to compulsory school attendance regarding illness

Passed.
Updated language to clarify illness to include “mental and physical” illness as accepted excuses for youth to be absent from school.

Race, Equity, and Inclusion

Close LB 1330 (Murman) – Prohibit public educational institutions form taking certain actions relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion

Did not advance from the Education Committee.
Voices for Children opposed, because it would have stopped educational institutions from requiring diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training for staff, spending public money on DEI programming, or establishing a DEI office.

Youth Justice

Checkmark LB 1089 (Deboer) – Exempt individuals under 19 years of age from payment of certain court costs and fees and change provisions of the Nebraska Juvenile Cost

Advanced from Judiciary Committee and placed on general file – did not move forward due to time restrictions and lack of priority designation during this short session.
Voices for Children is keeping the momentum on this issue going with an interim study we are working on this year in collaboration with Senator DeBoer's office and other coalition members!

Close LB 1146 (Murman) – Provide an additional exception to the prohibition on suspending a student in pre-k through 2nd grade

Did not advance from the Education Committee.
We testified in opposition as this bill would allow smaller school districts to suspend young students 2nd grade and under.

Close LB 1282 (McDonnell) – Provide for youth renewal centers for high-risk youth

Did not advance from the Judiciary Committee.
We testified in opposition as this bill created an additional mode and manner of detaining young people, rather than imagining or investing in a real spectrum of care to meet treatment needs.

Close LB 1208 (Bosn) – Allow for detention of juveniles under the Nebraska Juvenile Code for their own protection

Did not advance from the Judiciary Committee.
We were opposed to the bill as drafted, but testified neutral at the committee hearing when Senator Bosn brought a friendly amendment to require clinical evaluation and referrals when a child presents to probation intake at risk of harm to self.

Child Welfare

Checkmark LB 876 (Holdcroft) – Adopt the Newborn Safe Haven Act

Passed.
Bill extends the window that guardians can surrender a newborn child from 30 days after birth to 90 days after birth. Bill was amended to no longer fund proposed “baby boxes” in fire departments.

Close LB 1321 (Arch) – Change provisions relating to the Public Counsel, the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare, and the Inspector General of the Nebraska Correctional System

Did not advance out of committee. At the hearing on DATE, Speaker Arch presented the Executive Board with a signed memorandum of understanding between the branches of government, allowing these offices to continue to do their work while an interim study is undertaken.
We took a neutral stance because we believe that the watchdog offices addressed in the bill are both necessary and already constitutional. We did not oppose the bill’s clarifications with regard to that office’s role, scope, purpose, and responsibilities. We believe it is very important that the Inspectors General be empowered to investigate and make recommendations for systemic improvement for both child welfare cases with the DHHS and juvenile justice cases with the Admin. Office of the Courts and Probation.

Young People Make a Difference in our Youth Leadership Council

Do you consider yourself a LEADER? Would you like to learn more about how the legislative process affects YOU and those around you? Would you like to learn how to have a future VOICE in those decisions?

If so, we'd LOVE to see You and Your Friends at our next Youth Leadership Council THIS SATURDAY, April 20!

The fun starts at 1:30 p.m. for middle school-aged youth, followed by high school-aged youth at 2:30 p.m. at our downtown office.

If you know of a young person interested in making friends, developing leadership skills and becoming a voice for their generation, please let them know about this AMAZING opportunity!

In addition, involvement in the youth council includes the opportunity to earn compensation up to $500 over the course of the year.

Please contact Nia Williams with any questions.

Get Your 2023 Kids Count in Nebraska Reports!

The Kids Count in Nebraska Report, produced annually, provides pertinent information on the well-being of children in areas of health, education, economic stability, child welfare and juvenile justice.

If you haven't gotten yours yet or would like to schedule a Kids Count in Nebraska presentation for your group, please contact Josh! You can also access a pdf of the report on the front page of our website. A fully updated Kids Count NEteractive page is under construction and coming soon!