Nebraska Children and Families Foundation today released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to communities wishing to apply for a Connected Youth Initiative sub-grant of up to $150,000. “The purpose of these subgrants is to give communities the financial and technical…
Beyond School Bells receives Ron Raikes Innovation for Opportunity Award
Jeff Cole of Nebraska Children and the Beyond School Bells collaboration were recently selected as the first recipient of the Ron Raikes Innovation for Opportunity Award. The award was given at a statewide ARKSARBEN recognition event at the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney on…
More details on the Connected Youth Initiative
What happened? The Corporation for National and Community Service has awarded a Social Innovation Fund (SIF) grant so that the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation. The grant will be used to expand a successful model to rural communities across the…
Tagged with: foster care, foster youth, juvenile justice, project everlast
Posted in Teen/Early Adulthood
Posted in Teen/Early Adulthood
SOCIAL INNOVATION FUND GRANT WILL BRING $15 MILLION TO RURAL NEBRASKA
Nebraska Children and Families Foundation today announced that it will receive a grant from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) to expand services to unconnected young people in rural Nebraska. The SIF grant – one of the largest ever given to…
Tagged with: foster care, foster youth, juvenile justice, project everlast, SIF
Posted in Teen/Early Adulthood
Posted in Teen/Early Adulthood
Day one of kindergarten: getting excited and prepared
As the first day of kindergarten approaches, your child may be nervous, excited, afraid or feeling all of these emotions. And that’s OK! Helping your child feel excited and prepared for kindergarten makes the first day easier for him and…
Real readiness: Social-emotional development and success in school
Social and emotional skills –not academic skills– are most predictive of success in kindergarten. When a 5-year-old enters kindergarten, she’ll be best positioned for success if she can sit and listen to the teacher, get along with other students, keep…
Tagged with: early childhood education, early childhood mental health, kindergarten, social emotional
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Choosing a high-quality preschool program in Nebraska
If your child is already in a care setting that has a preschool program that you like, that’s great news. For many Nebraska families, however, their 3- and 4-year-olds will be starting preschool after being in a home-based setting. For…
Nebraska Children receives 4-Star rating from Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator, has just awarded Nebraska Children and Families Foundation 4 out of 4 stars for sound fiscal management and commitment to accountability and transparency. “We are proud to announce Nebraska Children and Families Foundation has…
Posted in Uncategorized
Preschool: Helping your child get the most out of schooling at ages 3-4
The purpose of preschool High-quality preschool programs are designed to help prepare children for kindergarten in several ways. Two of the most important areas are: Optimizing social-emotional skills by giving 3-4 year olds the opportunity to practice these skills in…
Smart Starts: School Readiness Begins at Birth
Building the brain from the beginning. By the time a child turns 3, his brain is 85% the volume of an adult brain. That means that nearly all of the neural connections that will ever form have already been set. These three…
Tagged with: ACEs, brain development, infant mental health, kindegarten, preschool, toxic stress
Posted in Early Childhood
Posted in Early Childhood
Growing the Good Life 