Nebraska Governor vetoes funding for CEDARS teen housing

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Governor Pillen has vetoed State funding from the general fund for a CEDARS facility for pregnant and parenting teens, saying in his veto message the organization can seek those funds from the federal “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families”, or TANF program.

On a patch of land at 66th Street and Pioneers Boulevard, CEDARS Home for Kids plans to build a new 7,000-square-foot facility called the Carriage House, where teens who are pregnant or parenting could stay a few months to get back on their feet. It’ll cost $3 million in total, a third of that was set to come from Nebraska’s general fund before the Governor’s veto.

CEDARS wasn’t able to talk about the future plans but forwarded 10/11 NOW to a partner in the project, Voices for Children, who said the veto was really disappointing.

“It is a year where we have this surplus or we have all this money,” said Anahi Salazar, Voices for Children in Nebraska. “And I really think one of Nebraskans’ values is children and children’s futures. And we think that we should be providing these resources.”

CEDARS still plans to move forward with the project, but it’s uncertain whether TANF funds will make up the funding that would have come from the State. The senator behind the effort said she’s not sure yet what will happen and they’ll know more next week.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that the Governor said some money from the CEDARS project could possibly come from a different State fund. The story was updated to clarify the veto message said the project could seek funds from TANF, a federal program.

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