New Report Urges Need to Prioritize Nebraska's Early Childhood Workforce

The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission—a group of more than 40 Nebraska public- and private-sector leaders including UNO’s Nancy Edick, dean of the College of Education, and Catherine Lang, state director of the Nebraska Business Development Center—is releasing a groundbreaking report on Thursday to address the challenges facing the early childhood workforce.

Elevating Nebraska’s Early Childhood Workforce: Report and Recommendations of the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission is the culmination of three years of effort by a commission formed to tackle one of the most complex and pressing challenges facing Nebraska today—expanding and strengthening the state’s early childhood workforce to meet children’s needs throughout the first eight years of life. The commission, which was convened by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, began work in February 2017.

Edick and Lang will be a part of the panel sharing details about the report. Members of the UNO community are invited to watch the launch event through livestream by going to earlyyearsmatter.org/workforce at 9 A.M. on Thursday, Jan. 30. More than 400 people are expected to attend the event or participate in local “watch parties” taking place in at least 12 communities across the state. Please join the conversation on social media using #earlyyearsmatter.