About
About We Care for Kids
We Care for Kids works to ensure that all Nebraska families have access to quality early childhood education for their children. We provide information on the importance of quality early childhood education, the essential role it plays in helping families work while raising young children who are prepared for school and life, and what families should look for when seeking quality services. We Care for Kids also builds support for the thousands of early childhood educators who help Nebraska’s economy thrive.
Why We Care
Quality early childhood education is essential for the future of our children and state. Nearly 90% of brain development takes place during the first five years of life. Thoughtful interaction and learning with parents, family, caregivers, and educators, create the foundation for success in school and life.
In Nebraska, working families rely on early childhood educators to extend the nurturing and learning that happens at home. More than three-fourths of children under age six live in homes where all adults work. Quality early childhood educators are essential for helping our state thrive.
Unfortunately, our state has a shortage of early educators. Ninety-one percent of counties in Nebraska with child care facilities do not have enough available places to meet the demand. Recent statewide research documents the strain faced by early childhood providers and the extreme difficulty of retaining and recruiting early childhood educators.
We Care for Kids is dedicated to ensuring that all Nebraska families have access to quality early childhood care and education.
We Care for Kids is a partnership of many diverse state and community-based organizations throughout Nebraska and is coordinated by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska. Funding is provided by a Preschool Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Holland Foundation, and the Buffett Early Childhood Institute.
This project is made possible by funding received through Grant Number 90TP0079-03-00 of the USDHHS-Administration for Children and Families, Office of Early Childhood; Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services; Nebraska Department of Education; and Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, following grant requirements of 70% federal funding with 30% match from state and private resources. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Our Partners
Learn more about our partners and their incredible work that helps Nebraska’s children thrive.
