Buffett Early Childhood Institute

01/27/2026

New blog: The Native Children's Research Exchange (NCRE) Scholars program, led by the Buffett Institute and the University of Colorado Anschutz, is growing a national network of Native American researchers and scientists addressing substance use and child development.

These Scholars share ideas, collaborate on research projects, and grasp the nuances of existing in the dual worlds of academia and Native culture.

The NCRE Scholars program is a success story, helping build the scientific workforce of Native American researchers addressing substance use and child development. Since 2012, the program has sponsored 41 early-career Scholars across 14 cohorts.

01/26/2026

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01/25/2026

Save the date: The Thriving Children, Families, and Communities Conference returns to Kearney, Neb., on Sept. 22!

Join community leaders for a full day of connection, collaboration, and shared learning around Nebraska’s early childhood challenges and success stories. More details: https://thrivingchildrenconference.vfairs.com/en/

01/24/2026

Must-read: University of Nebraska at Omaha Community Chair Debora Wisneski's recent child care op-ed in the Omaha World-Herald. Child care is part of the essential infrastructure Omaha will need as it works to attract new talent, curb brain drain, and support families.

"Child care is one of the most important decisions many families will make — and yet many parents find little systemic support."

Read here: https://omaha.com/opinion/column/article_aeda7690-74c0-42e8-918b-50435db88ab5.html

01/23/2026

Our University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska at Kearney Community Chairs—Debora Wisneski, Philip Lai, and Paula Thompson—visited the Buffett Institute this week! In addition to fulfilling the traditional faculty roles of teaching, research, and service, our Community Chairs provide campus leadership and are responsive to the local community.

Learn more about the program and Chairs from UNO, UNK, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln: https://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu/about-us/community-chairs

01/21/2026

New blog: "Tri-Share does not replace subsidies, Head Start, or universal approaches—but it fills a critical gap that advocates have long struggled to address. It serves families the current system leaves behind.

Most Tri-Share participants are working families who earn too much to qualify for child care subsidies, but far too little to comfortably afford market-rate care. These families are often invisible in policy debates, even though they make up a large share of the workforce."

Read Linda Smith's new piece on the Tri-Share early childhood financing model, which typically splits costs between families, employers, and the government.

Tri-Share does not replace subsidies, Head Start, or universal approaches—but it fills a critical gap that advocates have long struggled to address. It serves families the current system leaves behind.

01/20/2026

Buffett Institute behind-the-scenes: Members of our Communications team and videographer Chris VanKat traveled to the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln last week to film a video on our campus Community Chairs.

In Kearney, they interviewed UNK Community Chairs Paula Thompson and Philip Lai, College of Education Dean Mark Reid, and Jesslyn Hollar, the teacher education department chair.

In Lincoln, they filmed UNL Community Chair Julia Torquati and Jeff Reese, the Nebraska College of Education and Human Sciences dean. Our team also stopped by the Ruth Staples Child Development Laboratory, which celebrated 100 years as a campus-based lab school last year.

Stay tuned for the upcoming video, and meet our Community Chairs: https://buffettinstitute.nebraska.edu/about-us/community-chairs

01/17/2026

"Attracting—and keeping—a college-educated workforce requires a community with the amenities and infrastructure to support how families live and work. For many young people and couples, child care is at the very top of this list."

In a new op-ed in the Omaha World-Herald, University of Nebraska at Omaha professor and Buffett Institute Community Chair Debora Wisneski argues that access to child care can't be overlooked as Omaha leaders work to combat brain drain and attract working families.

UNO College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

In a World-Herald op-ed, UNO's Debora Wisneski writes that child care shortcomings are a big part of Omaha's brain drain problem.

01/16/2026

A new report from the Buffett Institute examines the Tri-Share child care funding model, in which the cost is shared among employers, the government, and families, and draws lessons learned for other states and communities considering this approach.

The report:
➡️ Shares insights from five states and cities—Michigan, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, and Rapid City, South Dakota—already using Tri‑Share models
➡️ Explains how cost‑sharing can help families stay in the workforce and provide more predictable, stable payments to child care providers
➡️ Shares what policymakers should consider when designing shared-cost child care strategies

🔗 Read the full report:

Across the country, families, businesses, and state governments are struggling with the same challenge: child care. While demand for child care has surged, driven in part by the dramatic increase in mothers’ workforce participation, the financing system that underpins child care has not evolved. A...

01/14/2026

It's Day! Our students, teachers, and school staff deserve a shout-out for their hard work and dedication. Share the impact public schools have made in your family's life. Thanks for spreading the word, I Love Public Schools.

01/14/2026

“I realize that we always have to be thoughtful about crime and fraud, but it should not be done in a way that puts the expense of that policing on babies.” Buffett Institute Executive Director Walter Gilliam talked to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about child care funding freezes:

Tarrant County families will continue to access subsidized child care without financial snags as federal “defend the spend” rules unfold.