Increasingly, the economic downturn is leading Americans, and Nebraskans, to access public benefits programs such as Child Care Assistance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In fact, the New York Times ran a recent story about “the new poor†entitled “Millions of Unemployed Face Years without Jobsâ€. The story chronicles the experiences of folks […]
Last week, we launched our Economic Opportunity Campaign, which is a values based policy agenda to build opportunity in the state.  The Campaign puts forth a vision where programs and policies change the odds for working Nebraskans. The vision includes job training, adult education, child care assistance, and access to health care. In that spirit,
While our country is engaged in an intense debate about immigration policy, largely absent from the discussion is the impact of our nation’s policies on the children of immigrants. Today, there are an estimated 5.5 million children with unauthorized immigrant parents, about three-quarters of whom are U.S.-born citizens. Last week, the Urban Institute released a
Report Documents Immigration Enforcement’s Harmful Effects on Children Read More »
For years Nebraska has had a common sense, compassionate, and fiscally sound policy of providing prenatal care to low-income mothers regardless of immigration status. But now, over 1,000 pregnant women face the terrifying prospect of losing their coverage for prenatal care as of March 1st. One of the worst parts of this? The coverage could
Common Sense and Prenatal Care Read More »
Educational opportunity for all Nebraska students was the focus of a committee hearing at the State Capitol last week. The Education Committee heard testimony on LB 1001, which would repeal Nebraska’s in-state tuition law—an important educational policy for Nebraska’s future. This law allows Nebraska students who are undocumented to pay in-state tuition rates if they
Putting Nebraska Students First Read More »
Nebraska Appleseed has used the tag line “Core Values, Common Ground, Equal Justice” for a long time. We look to these central principles in a variety of ways about a variety of issues. Last Thursday, our own Becky Gould testified regarding ACCESS Nebraska – our state’s on-line application system for public benefits programs. And, in
(originally posted at New Nebraska Network) This past week has been full of speculation about the future of health care reform which has been frustrating for health care reform advocates. Many of us have worked tirelessly this past year to make comprehensive health care reform a reality, coming further than any previous generation. The recent
Finish The Job – The Need For Reform Remains Unchanged Read More »
This week, Congress is negotiating the final health care reform bill that will make critical improvements to our broken health care system.  This is great news for the 224,000 Nebraskans – 45,000 of them children – who lack coverage today, and the thousands who struggle to afford their current coverage. But for health care reform
Finishing Reform Right Read More »
We know the devastating impact our broken immigration system is having on Nebraska families and communities. According to a new report, reform is also urgent for economic reasons. Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform – released jointly by the Immigration Policy Center and the Center for American Progress
Immigration Reform Is a Critical Part of Our Economic Recovery Read More »
For many of us, the holidays bring great feasts – traditions ranging from turkey and gravy to oyster stew to Mom’s infamous Christmas cookies. For many of us, they also make our thoughts turn to those who are not able to celebrate the holidays in the same way. In the weeks surrounding the holidays, hunger