Kids Count Report – Nebraska

Posted on January 25, 2011 by townsend

• Behavioral, mental health problems play big role in other childhood issues, By Erin Andersen, January 25, 2011, Lincoln Journal Star: “One in 10 Nebraska kids is not all right. One in 10 suffers from some sort of behavioral health problem, according to the 2010 Kids Count in Nebraska report being issued Tuesday by Voices for Children. Those kids — with behavioral, emotional and psychological troubles — make up more than 26 percent of children in foster care, 65 to 70 percent of the children in the juvenile justice system and a disproportionate number of school drop-outs and children in poverty, said Melissa Breazile, research coordinator for Voices for Children in Nebraska. This year’s Kids Count report is a mixed bag. While graduation rates have increased and dropout, school expulsion and infant mortality rates have dipped, poverty and its many related issues have increased — some rather significantly…”
• Kids Count sounds alarm on cuts, By Sam Womack, January 25, 2011, Omaha World-Herald: “In 2008, 34 youths with a history of behavioral health problems were dropped off at ‘safe haven’ locations throughout the state. In response, the state enacted big changes. The Legislature limited the safe abandonment law to infants less than 30 days old. In mid-2009 it passed legislation that created programs to connect families with resources to manage child behavioral health issues. This year, several of those services are on the chopping block. As a response, the 2010 Kids Count report focuses on Nebraska’s estimated 90,000 youths with mental, emotional or behavioral disorders, the services available and the need for more preventive action. Kids Count is compiled by Voices for Children, a statewide research and policy group that times the release of its report to the start of new state legislative sessions…”