Child Care in Nebraska

How Community Support Can Make A Difference

Affordability and Quality

What does quality look like? And how does it fit your current financial needs? One way for parents to search for potential providers is Nebraska’s Step Up to Quality program, which provides quality ratings and an improvement system. By searching stepuptoquality.ne.gov parents can search for providers by ZIP code, age group and program type to find participating providers within the program.

Robert Patterson, who has been CEO of Kids Can Community Center since 2010, said quality can be subjective, so when he learned about the program, he jumped at the opportunity to make improvements to show proof of concept.

“We believe in ensuring that every child should have a quality

-MIKE BIRD, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF CRCC

environment no matter where they live, or their household income or whatever barriers they may face,” he said. “I’m a big believer of the equity of that, especially when it comes to starting kids out right, so I was excited that there was something to latch on to and measure our own quality beyond the typical things that we could do internally.”

Child care providers can work through Steps 1-5, with opportunities for coaching teachers and staff. Kids Can is one of five providers to reach Step 5 at the time of this writing.

“It’s great to be one of the few [to reach Step 5], but I also believe in a rising tide lifts all boats,” Patterson said. “We can all do better and have the ability to offer these kids a lot more.”

While Step 5 is one resource, parents should not limit their decision to just the providers in the program. Touring facilities and interviewing staff will also give a good idea of quality.

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, a caregiver’s checklist might include indicators such as: positive teacher/student relationships, developmentally-appropriate curriculum, assessment of child progress, promotion of nutrition and health, staff with the appropriate qualifications, family engagement, and licensing status.

Daro suggested resources like Nebraska Child Care Referral Network, We Care for Kids/Por Todos Los Ninos and the Child Care Essentials booklet, which can be found on the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website.

If affordability is beyond reach, Buffett Early Childhood Institute works with partners to collect data on the rates Nebraska child care centers are charging to set a subsidy rate for lower-income families.

Those who don’t qualify but are still struggling to pay the bills remain in the balance. That’s where policymakers and the business community are urged to step in.

Anne Brandt, executive director of Lincoln Littles, an organization formed in 2020 to address child care needs in Lincoln, is working to fill that gap.

“One of our big initiatives underneath the affordability sector of our strategic plan is tuition assistance,” Brandt said of its fundraising efforts. “We are helping families in the gap, which are families who make too much to qualify for state subsidy, but not enough to afford the high cost of quality care.”

Lincoln Littles raises private funds for partner child care providers to assist families, with an average of $2,300 given per child.