Nebraska
Working families in Nebraska need accessible, affordable, quality child care and early learning opportunities for their children.
Currently, federal and state early learning programs reach thousands of young children and their families in Nebraska. But too many working families in Nebraska are missing out. As a direct result of child care issues, the Nebraska economy loses millions of dollars each year in the form of lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.
There are 155k children ages 5 and under in Nebraska – 72% of these children have all available parents in the workforce.
The typical annual cost of child care for an infant in Nebraska is around $13,000.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant only reaches 10% of eligible families. This federal program helps low-income parents afford child care.
On average, child care providers in Nebraska earn just $29,100 a year; this can make it a challenge to recruit and retain this workforce, leading to supply issues.
Nebraska’s economy loses $781M annually due to child care challenges.
Nebraska: In the Headlines
Bipartisan Senate group releases bill to help increase affordable child care
NBC News | September 17, 2025
The new legislation seeks to address rising child care costs by granting funding to states to help families who currently make too much money to qualify for assistance.
‘It is everything’: Parents, advocates say Head Start offers more than child care
Nebraska Public Media | jUNE 11, 2025
The CCDBG Reauthorization Act is one step toward alleviating the child care crisis. I’ll keep working with my colleagues in Congress to pass this bill and support our parents, child care providers, and kids.
Nebraska researchers focus on early childhood educator shortage
KMA Land | September 14, 2025
Researchers and students at the University of Nebraska are addressing a critical shortage of early childhood educators, especially in rural parts of the state.
Nebraska Resources & News
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