What began in April 2020 as a response to desperate parents seeking child care during the pandemic as well as providers who were operating at less than half capacity, a group of early childhood stakeholders collaborated to create the Nebraska Child Care Referral Network. All licensed child care homes, centers, and preschools in Nebraska can be found in the searchable database at http://www.NEChildCareReferral.org.
Welcome to Wood River, Nebraska. Their Communities for Kids (C4K) core team is proud to announce the opening of their childcare center, Stick Creek Kids. But like most dreams, the team hasn’t always walked on a smooth path. But rather than backing down, they embarked on the challenging road. Together, with the help of their community, the center’s doors will open. Read more about how this community accomplished this remarkable feat.
For those who have been following the series of collaboration start-ups, you may be wondering what’s on the other end. How does a partnership move from an idea to a fully realized and functional project? This month, you’ll hear the story of an idea that germinated between several people and grew over the span of five years into a multi-organizational collaboration that has found statewide success and is sprouting roots in the national community. Read more.
On Saturday, April 24, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. the counties will hold back-to-back Zoom sessions, one in English and one in Spanish, to inspire conversations about the bi-lingual experience in childcare. The event, titled “Supporting Spanish Speakers in Early Childhood,” offers providers insight into Latinx cultures and invites Spanish-speaking families to better understand the requirements of the American educational system and to engage actively with the providers who care for their children. Read more about this event!
Today, Daisy Ortiz has a story to tell. Daisy was raised in a loving, supportive family. As a teenager, she and her parents were committed to her pursuing a bright future. At 16, however, she encountered an earth-shattering surprise: she was pregnant. How did her resolve and Sixpence help her through this major life challenge? Read more in our blog, in Daisy’s words.
If you’re ready for some good news and a new year, then Nebraska Children has a good one for you from Sixpence, one of the early childhood programs we oversee. Susan Johnson, a Family Educator and Director of Sixpence Falls City Public School has a terrific Sixpence success story! Read more to hear about how a young family overcame their housing and professionals challenges and went on to obtain some impressive goals.
You might say it started with a beautiful moment. Stephanni Renn, Vice President of Early Childhood/Sixpence Administrator at Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and Dr. Lisa Knoche, Rsearch Associate Professor and principal investigator of the Getting Ready Preschool Development Grant at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools shared core principles of quality home visitation practices in a breakout room at October’s Nebraska Leadership Team meeting.
For the past five years, Winnebago Public Schools has teamed up with Sixpence. And they have quite a bit of success to show for it. Whereas we don’t deny the difficulties our state and world have undergone, we find these struggles even more reason to celebrate the programs and people who are doing good. One of those programs is Sixpence, along with Winnebago Educare, in partnership Winnebago Public Schools. Today, we heard from Brittney Stansberry, the Educare Coordinator. She delivered some wonderful news about the ways Sixpence has helped her students.
Sami Bradley, Nebraska Children’s Assistant Vice President of Early Childhood Mental Health, echoes this sentiment. She’s long contributed her expertise to our various early childhood initiatives and community partners, including Rooted in Relationships. Sami’s goal is like ours: to create and sustain systems of care that ensure every child from birth through age eight receives the social emotional support they need. Read more about how Sami’s article and expertise on Circle of Security Parenting was featured in a national report.
A young woman from Guatemala gave birth in a detention center. How did Sixpence support her during her difficult transition to Schuyler, Nebraska, and into a place of thriving? Read more.
