The mission of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska is to transform the lives of young children by improving their learning and development. The Institute makes use of the interdisciplinary resources and research of the four University of Nebraska campuses and works with schools, agencies, community partners and policy makers to implement and support high‐quality, evidence‐based services, programs and policies for young children and their families. It builds on the land grant and metropolitan college philosophy, on the experience of the university campuses and on the promise of basic and applied research, training, policy development and outreach to all corners of the state — urban, rural and suburban.
Two signature programs, Closing the Opportunity Gap and Elevating the Early Childhood Workforce, shape the Buffett Early Childhood Institute’s efforts to improve the lives of children.
Closing the Opportunity Gap
This program focuses on ensuring that all children have opportunities to develop, learn, and achieve their potential. Young children who are denied opportunities because of gender, racial or cultural bias, family economic status, or home language typically do not achieve their full academic or personal and social potential.
Research shows that enhancing and improving early childhood systems can benefit school progress and future earnings and reduce anti-social behavior, welfare participation, and even trouble with the law. Our goal is to help all children thrive by enhancing their opportunities to learn from birth onward.
Elevating the Early Childhood Workforce
The workforce program takes on the critical issues that affect the quality and quantity of early childhood professionals in our state, such as professional preparation and qualifications, workforce compensation, funding, and public commitment. As part of this work, the Institute convened the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission, which has the vision of Nebraska elevating the early childhood workforce to a priority profession benefitting all children from birth through Grade 3. The workforce program is focused on achieving the four goals co-created with the commission as outlined in Elevating Nebraska’s Early Childhood Workforce report and recommendations. The four goals include:
- Ensuring the early childhood workforce is highly qualified and reflects the diversity of the children and families they serve.
- Fully funding high-quality care and education by 2030.
- Nebraskans championing the critical role of the early childhood workforce in young children’s learning and development.
- Implementing the commission’s recommendations.
