Founded in 1987, Voices for Children in Nebraska has been improving the livs of Nebraska’s children and youth for more than thirty-five years. As the independent, non partisan voice for children, we are not funded by state, federal, city or county dollars. We are generously supported by people like you—who want to make difference for the kids in our state. Our independence allows us to speak loud and clear and to shine the spotlight on the needs of children in our state.

MISSION

Voices for Children in Nebraska is the independent voice building pathways to opportunity for all children and families through research, policy and community engagement.

VISION

We will engage the public and state leaders to build systems removing obstacles and promoting opportunities for ALL children to lead healthy, secure and fulfilling lives.

VALUES

All children deserve an equal opportunity to succeed in life. To ensure kids remain at the center of priorities and programs:

• Informed research drives our direction.
• When a policy is good, we support it; when it is harmful, we fight it; when it is missing, we can create it.
• Community engagement is how we promote systems change.

PLAN

Since 1987, Voices for Children in Nebraska has:

• helped create and pass the 2006 Earned Income Tax Credit in Nebraska which is the single most effective policy that allows low income children and families to move out of poverty.
• ensured since 1999 the effective implementation of Kids Connection, which makes it possible for thousands of children living in poverty to have health care.
• collaborated with legislative, legal, and social service leaders to prioritize sibling relationships for children in state care, to build upon family strengths and invest in community-based resources, and when family reunification isn’t possible, to establish policy to limit the time a child can languish in foster care.
• produced the annual Kids Count Report which is recognized as the source of data, policy and impact information for state and local leaders on child well-being in Nebraska.
• enacted changes to the criminal and juvenile justice systems to ensure that young people are held accountable in developmentally appropriate ways that allow them to grow out of antisocial behavior and into healthy adulthood, including through decarceration of children, raising the age for criminal charging of minors, and working to eliminate cruel practices like solitary confinement.
• coordinated state ballot initiatives to eliminate predatory lending in our state and to twice raise Nebraska’s minimum wage to better support working families
• helped create and pass the Meadowlark Act, automatically creating and seeding an educational savings account for every baby born in Nebraska
• lifted up future leaders through youth engagement work, including deveoping and leading the Nebraska Youth Justice Policy Fellowship program at Boys Town since 2017, for students with juvenile justice system experience interested in making their voices heard to improve the system for all  
• consistently provided lawmakers, community leaders, and individuals with sound, disaggregated data and quality research to ensure that decisions are made  

As a key Mission partner, Voices For Children annually receives financial support from Presbyterian Church of the Cross (PCOC) to fund its programs. Our ongoing support includes membership on Voices’ Board of Directors and other volunteer service. In 2011, Voices named PCOC its faith-based award recipient for its support of their organization.

Contact the coordinator or call Voices for Children directly at 402-597-3100 to volunteer.

Explore Our Other Local Mission Support