Posted on July 6, 2023
Here are highlights of New Jersey's FY2024 budget spending on children and families.
On June 30th, Governor Murphy signed into law the largest budget in state history – $54.5 billion for FY2024, a 7% increase in state spending. The budget will cover all of the state’s planned spending from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. There were some big wins for children and families! Two of those “wins” included HealthySteps and preschool mixed delivery budget resolutions that ACNJ and its partners were instrumental in ensuring were included in the budget!
Below are some of the budget highlights:
Education and Child Care
- Continuing child care subsidy payments based on enrollment.
- Continuing the $300/monthly child care subsidy family differential payment.
- Continuing the family subsidy co-pay waiver.
- $116 million for state-funded preschool (Preschool Education Aid), $40 million of which will go towards expanding public preschool in new districts. This amount will bring the total state funding for preschool to more than $1 billion.
- Requiring any new school district receiving Preschool Education Aid to demonstrate due diligence in establishing partnerships to provide its preschool program with licensed child care and Head Start programs that are willing and able to meet the preschool standards.
- An increase of $832 million in the K-12 school funding formula and $103 million in supplementary stabilization aid to help school districts adjust to changes in aid based on enrollment.
- An increase in the eligibility threshold for both Community College Opportunity Grants and Garden State Guarantee for students with family incomes of up to $100,000.
- $20 million to support teacher training, including $10 million for student teacher stipends, $5 million to waive teacher certification fees, $2 million for culture and climate innovation grants, and $1 million for teacher loan redemption.
- $20 million to support the creation of a Social Impact Investment Fund, which will provide below-market loans for socially conscious projects in distressed communities, including child care facilities.
Tax Credits
- The current state level Child Tax Credit will double from a maximum of $500 to a $1,000 refundable tax credit for families with children under the age of 6 whose household earnings are $80,000 or less.
Health Care and Family Services
- $32 million for the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority and the Maternal Innovation Center in Trenton.
- $15.6 million for the Universal Nurse Home Visitation Program.
- $2.5 million for Perinatal Workforce Training and Education.
- $2 million for Nurture NJ Awareness Initiative.
- $400,000 to implement the NJ Breast Feeding Strategic Plan.
- $500,000 to establish a program that provides an enhanced payment for well-child and sick visit claims submitted for children under four years of age at HealthySteps sites.
ACNJ will continue to provide post-budget updates as additional information becomes available. Stay tuned!
