Our Work

Programs & Initiatives

At NCFF, early childhood care and education support has been one of our priorities since our inception in 1997. Our Board of Directors’ recognizes that child development in the early years is of primary importance when focusing on prevention measures. They also understand, from decades of research, that early experiences and environments in a child’s life help shape their future learning capacity and ability to enter school prepared to learn.

At NCFF, we are committed to bringing people together to achieve the best results for children and families, and we are looking forward to doing just that with the Early Childhood Coalition.

Nebraska Early Childhood Coalition

The Nebraska Early Childhood Coalition was established in 2005 for the purpose of developing a statewide unified voice for early childhood and to set the content and direction for early childhood care and education policy in the State of Nebraska.

Our goal is to build and strengthen the coalition so that individuals interested in affecting early childhood policy can come together to set the direction for action. The NCFF policy team is responsible for leading the coalition activities.

• EC COALITION PRIORITIES
  
  
• RESOURCES
  Click below to download informative research reports, presentations and news releases pertaining to early childhood throughout Nebraska and the nation.
  
  
• Early Childhood Economic Impact Study
  Nebraska ranks fourth in the nation for the percentage of families with children under age five in which one or both of the parents are working. Seventy-five percent of these children of working parents are in some type of out-of-home care and education environment. The Early Childhood Economic Impact Study, conducted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on behalf of the Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Council (ECICC), shows that Nebraska’s early care and education industry employs tens of thousands of people, serves about 100,000 children in licensed care, and generates state revenues comparable to that of the state’s major industries. This industry not only serves Nebraska’s workers today, but prepares children to be successful as students and professionals later in life.
  
  
• Early Childhood Economic Impact Study Summary
  
  
• EARLY EDUCATION: A SMART INVESTMENT
  Full program video (1 hour, 11 minutes)
  
  
• BUFFETT EARLY CHILDHOOD FUND EFFORTDaniel Pedersen, President, Buffett Early Childhood Fund
  
  
• NATIONAL BUSINESS PERSPECTIVEJoseph J. Minarik, Senior Vice President & Director of Research, Committee for Economic Development (CED)
  
  
• KEYNOTE REMARKSJ. Barry Griswell, Chairman & CEO, The Principal Financial Group
  
  
• QUESTIONS AND ANSWER SESSION
  
  
• Resource: List of Web Links to Event Video (MS Word)
  
  
• Early Childhood Endowment info. sheet (PDF)
  
  
• "The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do," Presentation by Dr. Jack Shonkoff (MS PowerPoint)
  Dr. Shonkoff is Dean of The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and Chair of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. NOTE: "The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do" is intellectual property of Dr. Jack Shonkoff, and is not to be modified, altered, or presented without express consent of the author.
  
  
• Dr. Shonkoff's Presentation (PDF)
  
  
• "The Science of Early Childhood Development: Closing the Gap Between What We Know and What We Do," Report, Dr. Jack Shonkoff (PDF)
  
  
• "The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40," Report, Lawrence J. Schweinhart, PhD, (PDF)
  Dr. Schweinhart is President of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
  
  
• "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return," Paper, Art Rolnick and Rob Grunewald (PDF)
  Art Rolnick is Senior Vice President and Director of Research; Rob Grunewald is Regional Economic Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
  
  
• "Invest in the Very Young," Report Excerpt, James J. Heckman, PhD, (PDF)
  Dr. James Heckman is the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences.
  
  
• "Early Learning, Later Success: The Abecedarian Study," Executive Summary, The Carolina Abecedarian Project (PDF)
  Early childhood educational intervention for children in poverty.
  
  
• "Long Term Study of Adults Who Received High-Quality Early Childhood Care and Education Shows Economic and Social Gains, Less Crime," News Release (PDF)
  High/Scope Educational Research Foundation.
  
  
• "Quality Day Care, Early, Is Tied to Achievements as an Adult," News Release (PDF)Jodi Wilgoren, The New York Times, October 22, 1999
  
  
• "Investing in Early Childhood Education Pays in Its Benefits to Society, Study" (Child Development Newswire)A joint study completed by Legal Momentum and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Workplace Center at the Sloan School of Management indicates that investing in early childhood education more than pays for itself when measured against the future benefits it brings to society.
  
  
• CCDBG Update
  Update on CCDBG Funding in the aftermath of Katrina.