This year’s Youth Legislative Days took place over Zoom. From Feb. 6-8, young people from all over Nebraska had the opportunity to make their voices heard, network, and learn about our legislative system. This year’s event featured a mix of young leaders from the Governor’s Youth Advisory Council (GYAC) as well as participants of Nebraska Children’s Connected Youth Initiative (CYI). Read more.
In October 2020, Nebraska Children was the sub-recipient of a $1.5 million three-year grant, “Improving Outcomes for Child and Youth Victims of Human Trafficking” through the grantee, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
The grant is from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). The goal is to support the child and youth victims of sex and labor trafficking in Nebraska up to age 24 and employ evidence-based strategies from Nebraska Children’s Connected Youth Initiative’s (CYI) to support survivors including unconnected youth ages 14-25.
A talented person with a turbulent past, Erik participated in CYI’s LEAP strategy for college students who experienced foster care. Thanks to LEAP and your support, he now thrives. Read More.
Alex thought college would be financially impossible. Thanks to his determination and the CYI LEAP program, which provides college-related supports for young people with foster care experience, he’s happily proven wrong. Read more.
Why is our guest blogger and Beyond School Bells’ Director of Partnerships, Anna Wishart, so excited for this winter? Read more to find out how Beyond School Bells, in their newest, high-tech initiative, is bringing sustainable agriculture to the next Nebraskan generation.
Thanks to alignment with CYI’s LEAP program, ETV recipients and their coaches can also tackle subjects such as relationships, work-life balance, housing, and scheduling. During these meetings, the coach offers encouragement that builds on the young person’s previous accomplishment and creates plans for future ones. Coaches will link youth to campus support systems as well. Let’s hear Elaine’s story, in her words.
Although Camp Catch-Up (CCU) has traditionally taken place during the summer, the resilient team remains devoted to reuniting siblings between the ages of 8-19 who were separated by the foster care system. When CCU canceled their summer sessions due to the pandemic, like everything the team does, they substituted their temporary disappointment with innovation.
The team kicked off Camp Catch-Up on September 25. The sessions presented some fun activities from the past and new ones, including cooking before a campfire, tie-dying, and crafts-making. Camp delivered a seasonal spin, too, with pumpkin-carving and painting to boot.
On January 15, 2020, Casey Family Programs, the largest private foundation whose aim is to minimize the need for foster care while creating communities of hope, awarded Bring Up Nebraska with the Jim Casey Building Communities of Hope Award.
Nebraska Children and Families Foundation is proud to lead this prevention partnership.
A young woman was temporarily homeless. How did she use her resilience, resources, and a little support from a Central Navigator and KAJ Hospitality to find a place she now calls home?
At 25 years old, Kloreace thought big and dreamed bigger. Six months after enrolling in Opportunity Passport™, she bought a house! A passionate school psychologist, she possesses many talents: she’s intelligent, driven, and compassionate. She’s also an advocate for the Opportunity Passport ™ program, which we oversee along with Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders Counties.
