CHAMPIONING SUPPORT, STABILITY, AND A POSITIVE FUTURE FOR ALL OF NEBRASKA’S CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE, AND FAMILIES

All children and families should be strengthened, supported, and cared for. 

Our Child Welfare Program is committed to reforming Nebraska’s child welfare system by ensuring children, young adults, and families have equitable access to the supports and services they need to thrive. Our goal is to advocate for a system that helps families in the way they need – providing support, stability, and a strong future for all of Nebraska’s young people and families. To do this, we:

• Maximize community and public supports to prevent children and families from unnecessarily entering foster care.
• Protect the rights of children and families interacting with the system, including fighting inequitable policies that disproportionately harm low-income children and families of color and deprive individuals of their fundamental rights.
• Promote the successful transition of older youth “aging out” of foster care by championing a full array of supportive services.
• Operate the Foster Care Reform Legal Resource Center (LRC), which assists child welfare attorneys across the state in developing cases that result in positive legal precedents and systemic change.
• Support young people across the state, including our Child Welfare Youth Fellowship Program and Community Advocacy Cohort, which work to support, uplift, and empower young people with lived expertise in their advocacy to improve the system.

We collaborate with impacted youth and families, elected officials, and communities to strengthen child welfare policies. We amplify the voices of youth and families, protect the legal rights of children through litigation, and advocate in the Nebraska Legislature.

2026 Child Welfare Legislative Priority Bills: