About NYCI

About NYCI

Who We Are

The Nebraska Young Child Institute (NYCI) is a state-wide conference for multidisciplinary professionals to connect on issues to improve the outcomes of young children. NYCI takes place every two years. The first NYCI was held in 2016.

Our Goal

  • Address the needs of young children and their families from prevention to intervention.
  • Provide opportunity for cross-sector collaboration so professionals from multiple disciplines can connect, deeply assess, and respond to our communities’ most pressing needs.

Our Focus

Our focus is to improve professional practice by providing the latest information on effective, research-based interventions and quality early childhood programming for our most vulnerable children ages birth to 5 and their families.

We do this by inviting experts from Nebraska and across the country to share related information through over 40 presentations and breakout sessions.

Target focus areas include:

  • impact of trauma on the developing child,
  • young child development,
  • advocating for young children,
  • maximizing systems for young children,
  • evidence-based practices for at-risk young children, and
  • early education.

Our Intended Audience

Anyone wanting to improve the well-being of Nebraska's youngest, such as:

Judges

County attorneys

Caseworkers

Parent attorneys

Guardians ad litem

CASAs

EDN providers

Head Start personnel

School representatives

Early childhood educators

Home visitors

Medical/health and mental health professionals

Service providers

Family members

NYCI Through the Years In 2016

  • In 2016, around 500 people attended.
  • In 2018, nearly 600 people attended.
  • In 2020, NYCI was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • In 2022, over 450 people attended.

The 2024 Planning Committee

Our planning committee draws on their professional experience and is dedicated to achieving NYCI's goals.

View 2024 Planning Committee Members

Stay in the Know

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