During last week’s first round of debate on the package of child welfare bills, Lincoln Senator Bill Avery noticed the apparent absence of the usual lobbyists in the State Capitol’s rotunda. As noted by Senator Avery, there “are no highly paid lobbyists working on behalf of kids.” While Nebraska Appleseed, Voices for Children, and some […]
Youth Share Their Experiences and Perspectives with Senators Read More »
On Monday, the Nebraska Legislature voted 36-0 to approve LB 842 on general file. The bill will ensure that Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) recipients can continue to pursue an Associates Degree for up to 36 months to meet their work requirements under the program. The policy prior to 2009 only allowed ADC recipients to
An Opportunity to Pursue Higher Education Read More »
Today, Gabrielle Liwaru, Benito Sanchez, Kevin Lytle and I will be joining thousands of others Americans in the historic Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March. It commemorates the 1965 voting rights marches which were a key moment in the civil rights movement and led to the eventual passage of the Voting Rights Act. But the
Marching Forward in the Ongoing Struggle for Civil Rights Read More »
“When it was over, we all sat there in silence for a moment, shocked by what we had seen, waiting for the happy ending ” said Rebecca Gonzales. Last Wednesday night, Appleseed, along with the NAACP Lincoln Branch, the Ethnic Studies Department of UNL and the UNL Progressive Student Coalition hosted a free screening of Luis Argueta’s film “AbUSed: The Postville Raid” at the Ross Theater.
No Tearful Reunions, No Happy Endings Read More »
Nearly one in five Americans and one in seven Nebraskans had difficulty affording food in the last year according to a report, “Food Hardship in America 2011,” released by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). “It’s concerning that food hardship continues to increase in our state, as does participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Nebraskans Increasingly Experiencing Food Hardship Read More »
My name is Brian Schnieder, and I’m part of the ambassador family for the March of Dimes in Omaha, Nebraska. Seven years ago, my son Jackson was born prior to twenty-five weeks. My wife had a medical condition that was undetected until she was further along in her pregnancy. He was born weighing one pound,
A Father’s Perspective on Prenatal Care for All Read More »
Rebecca L. Gould, Executive Director of the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, issued the following statement today in response to the advancement of a package of five bills to reform the state’s child welfare system: “Today and yesterday, the Nebraska Legislature voted to advance a package of five bills designed to
Statement on General File Debate on Child Welfare Bills Read More »
How can we welcome new neighbors? Over twenty-five young people met last week in Omaha to get to know each other and to talk about just that. They laughed together, ate together and found they have a lot in common. Some of the students were born in Sudan or Ethiopia, others were born in Texas
Saying Hello to New Neighbors & Building Strong, Healthy Communities Read More »
The court’s decision Monday to strike down the core of the Fremont immigration enforcement ordinance is no surprise. Every such ordinance with a rental component has been found unconstitutional — but not before creating great cost, division, and sense of loss in the local community. Even though the Fremont ordinance never went into effect, it
Fremont Ordinance: Unconstitutional and Unproductive Read More »