A disturbing story on NPR this morning describes a “quiet, behind-the-scenes effort to help draft and pass Arizona Senate Bill 1070 by an industry that stands to benefit from it: the private prison industry.” Prison Economics Help Drive Arizona Immigration Law: The investigation uncovers how the AZ law was born in a hotel room with […]
Prison Economics Help Drive Arizona Immigration Law Read More »
In 44% of low-income Nebraska families, neither parent has any post-secondary education. In 2018, 66% of jobs in Nebraska will require post-secondary education. There is a skills gap in our state: too many folks lack high school and post-secondary credentials, and too many jobs require them. This is a problem for workers now, and for
Filling the Skills Gap in Nebraska Read More »
Best practices for addressing state budget shortfalls have been identified by a group of ten nonprofit organizations today in a report entitled “Smart Choices in Hard Times: Best Practices for State Budgets.” “When budgets are tight, families are counting on smart budget choices that protect what matters most. We have to look at the budget
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On Friday afternoon, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its next steps in the child welfare reform in a press release. These next steps include transferring additional case management responsibilities from the state to the remaining private agencies. This has and will mean layoffs of a number of state caseworkers. Yet
“Next steps” in Child Welfare Reform – But Is This the Right Direction? Read More »
It’s a new month: October. Fall is officially here bringing with it crisp cool weather and Halloween. But for many Nebraska families, the turn of the calendar page means much more. Public benefits programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps) and Aid to Dependent Children (cash welfare) “kick in” at midnight
A New Month, A Small Reminder Read More »
On September 30th, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that Boys and Girls Home and HHS have mutually agreed to terminate their contract with the state as one of three remaining lead agencies in the child welfare reform. Boys and Girls Home had the contract for the entire central, northern and
Loss of Third Child Welfare Lead Agency Demands State Reconsider Reform Read More »
On September 22, the Legislature’s Children’s Behavioral Health Oversight Committee held a hearing and listened to testimony from parents of children with unmet behavioral health needs. The stories were heartbreaking. Many told of the support they received from peer mentors. However, several of the family organizations that provide this service testified that they may have
Re-printed by permission of the writer, of Lincoln, who is a retired attorney and Nebraska Appleseed board member. First published as an OpEd in the Lincoln Journal-Star September 19, 2010. Articles in both major Nebraska newspapers on Sept. 9, 2010, quoted testimony given at the hearing of the Nebraska Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission
Nebraskans Should be Outraged Read More »
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has announced that he will bring the DREAM Act (S. 729) up for a vote as an amendment to the Department of Defense authorization bill. A vote could come as early as Tuesday. With your help, the DREAM Act will be considered and pass in the Senate. Please take
ACT NOW To Pass the DREAM Act! Read More »
In spite of poverty rates that show Nebraska faring better than the rest of the nation, data show thousands more Nebraskans are low-income, according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009“. One in ten Nebraskans (9.9%) faced poverty in 2009. This is