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 »
This is the inaugural edition of Nebraska Appleseed’s Legislative Update, our regular look at the Unicameral’s work on issues impacting working families, immigrant Nebraskans and the communities where they live, children in foster care, access to health care, voting rights, and more. We are sending you this edition because you have already subscribed or we hope you
Half Way Point at the Legislature & Priorities are Set Read More »
Last Wednesday, Child Welfare Director Sarah Helvey spoke at a Reform Roundtable event sponsored by Project Everlast. About 35 youth with foster care experience attended to eat pizza, learn about privatization, and get answers from a panel of representatives from DHHS, KVC, NFC, Nebraska Appleseed, and Voices for Children. Questions ranged from how a Title
Panel Responds to Youths’ Questions about Child Welfare System Privatization Read More »
The state’s child welfare system is in great need of reform. A vital piece of ensuring reform is effective is to prevent children from entering the system unnecessarily. LB 1063 is intended to address gaps in Medicaid services for children, which needlessly push children into the system to obtain the mental health services they need. Indeed, LB 1063 makes certain
LB 1063 Aims to Fill Medicaid Gaps & Help Parents Keep Their Kids Read More »
LB 1172 requires the County Attorney to file a petition to terminate parental rights when a child under the age of five is in an out-of-home placement for twelve months. We thank Sen. Pirsch and the judiciary committee for their commitment to increase permanency for younger children in foster care, but believe that reducing case
A Timely Path to Permanency Requires True System Reform Read More »
We support LB 1160 because it would establish much needed oversight of what is really happening to children and families in the child welfare system. We fully support that the data collected as part of LB 1160 is targeted to provide accountability in individual cases but also seeks to use the information for ongoing systemic
Strengthen Transparency, Accountability and Oversight of Nebraska’s Child Welfare System Read More »
LB 949 would create a separate budget program for appropriations of funds for child welfare in Nebraska. LB 949 would also require regular financial reporting by the Nebraska Department of Health & Human Services to the Legislature’s HHS and Appropriations Committees. We also strongly support that LB 949 would require that the Department’s appropriations request
Address Fiscal Oversight Problems in Nebraska’s Child Welfare System Read More »
LB 926 ensures that foster parents in Nebraska will be provided with the resources necessary to meet children’s basic needs. We thank Sen. Dubas and the other co-sponsors for their commitment to improving the child welfare system and ask that you vote to advance LB 926. [DDET LB 926 Testimony] Senator Kathy Campbell Chair, Health
Ensure Foster Parents Receive the Resources to Meet Children’s Basic Needs Read More »
The 2012 Legislative session is off to a fast and furious start. We are already a third of the way through this short (60 day) session and Nebraska Appleseed is working on more bills than ever before. We’d like to highlight some of the key issues we are working on in our programs and give
Appleseed at the Legislature Read More »
Yesterday, the HHS Committee held a hearing on LB 1150, a bill, introduced by Senator McGill with input from Project Everlast youth members, that would extend foster care services on a voluntary basis up to age 21 in Nebraska. For years, adolescents aging out of foster care have struggled with the transition into adulthood. Typical
An Opportunity for Investment in the Futures of Youth in Foster Care Read More »