What’s New?

Published in The Star-Ledger on Monday, November 6, 2017

It might not happen today, and it might not happen tomorrow, but a baby will face serious harm at a New Jersey child care center. It’s just a question of when and where. And if preventive action isn’t taken quickly, the responsibility, ultimately, will rest with the New Jersey Legislature.

Though New Jersey’s child care system faces many challenges, the most urgent is the inadequacy of the state child care subsidy. Each year, the state provides financial assistance in the form of subsidies to help pay for child care for approximately 80,000 children from low-income families, enabling parents to participate in the workforce.

The Legislature has not increased the subsidy for infant care since 2008, as we have reminded them repeatedly in letters, policy papers and testimony. Today’s infant care subsidy is the same $32.12 a day established nearly a decade ago. But now, that barely covers the costs of keeping the doors open, like staffing, supplies, rent and utilities. And it leaves nothing to cover repairs, let alone invest in quality improvements like facilities upgrades, staff training and professional development or parent engagement initiatives. In fact, New Jersey’s infant care reimbursement is an alarming 40 percent below national standards for quality care.

With that $32.12 stretched thinner and thinner by rising costs, the shortfall has compromised staffing and training, driven up turnover, and begun to undermine providers’ ability to meet critical safety and care standards. A review of recent child care center violations revealed numerous basic safety concerns, like leaving babies unattended or in cribs in unsafe conditions. A shocking 34 percent of centers were cited for not having staff Child Abuse Record Information (CARI) background checks on file, which is required by the State of New Jersey.

Providers understand the stakes and they’ve demonstrated amazing creativity and tenacity to continue serving New Jersey’s working families. They’ve leaned on each other and shared resources and ideas. They’ve built partnerships with community-based organizations and, so far, they – and we – have been lucky.

But eventually, something has to give. And though the reimbursement shortfall affects all children, providers understand that the risks are greater for babies who require more intensive attention and care. Better than most, providers understand that it is now just a question of when our luck will run out. That’s why child care providers are working with us to sound the alarm.

Leadership from Trenton on this important issue is long overdue and the silence has been deafening. Increasing the infant care reimbursement rate must be an urgent priority for the Legislature and New Jersey’s incoming governor. Just one incident resulting in serious harm to a baby would certainly result in a crisis of confidence in our state’s entire child care system. With more than 400,000 children in New Jersey child care centers, the impact on working families and their employers would be alarming.

For a small fraction of the funding earmarked for the State Capitol renovation project, the Legislature could increase the infant care reimbursement rate to a point that would allow providers to meet basic staffing and training standards. That’s not enough to ensure quality care, but it would reduce the likelihood of an avoidable tragedy. And it would serve as an important down payment on quality child care that keeps working parents on the job, keeps kids safe and prepares them for success in school.

Ignoring a problem and hoping for the best is no way to make public policy. Ten years has been more than long enough to wait for action on this life-and-death priority.

Jennifer Santana, President, Coalition of Infant/Toddler Educators
Cecilia Zalkind, President and CEO, Advocates for Children of New Jersey

Do you provide child care for infants?  I asked this question hundreds of times as I called child care centers throughout New Jersey as part of a statewide study on the availability of center-based care for infants and toddlers. This is the same question asked by new parents everyday as they prepare to return to the workforce.  As I called center after center, memories of finding child care for my own children came rushing back. I remembered the sleepless nights before returning to work, wondering how I could ever find someone that I trusted, someone that would be able to provide a safe, warm and stimulating environment for my baby while I was at work.  I recalled the numerous phone calls and visits to child care centers, the endless probing of other parents for recommendations, and the constant worry of making the right decision. I was lucky. I had options; I was able to find child care that worked for my family. However, for far too many New Jersey families, this is not the case.

Having access to options for child care that best suits a family’s needs is vital for supporting working parents. These options should include a robust supply of safe and reliable high-quality licensed child care programs that also serve as a rich early learning environment, since the first three years of a baby’s life is most critical in laying the foundation for healthy development and later success in school and life.  However, as Advocates for Children of New Jersey’s (ACNJ) recent report, No Room for Babies: Center-based Infant-Toddler Child Care in Short Supply, reveals, the supply of infant-toddler child care in licensed facilities is limited throughout the state and in some communities – practically non-existent. This leaves many working parents scrambling to find care, often making piecemeal accommodations for lack of available choices. Even when center-based care is available, many families find the high cost of infant care does not fit into their budget. For these families, affordability becomes the determining factor in deciding who will care for their baby. This is especially true for families that receive a child care subsidy. Each year, New Jersey provides subsidies to help offset the cost of child care for approximately 80,000 children from low-income families, enabling parents to participate in the workforce. The infant subsidy rate of $32.12 per day or just $4.00 an hour per baby, has not been increased in nearly a decade and covers only a small fraction of what it really costs to provide high-quality care.

Finding a provider nearby that has space and will accept the subsidy is becoming increasingly difficult. The reimbursements are often too low to meet even their basic expenses – staff, rent and utilities. Centers, already struggling to cover the rising operational costs, are forced to limit the number of babies they can accept. Other times, in order to cover costs, centers charge the difference between what the subsidy covers and the actual tuition rate, making it unaffordable for the families who need it the most.

The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG) of 2014, which largely funds the subsidy system, marked a critical step in strengthening the quality of child care, improving the health and safety of children in child care settings, and making it easier for parents to get and keep the child care assistance they need. Parental choice, equal access and quality are the cornerstones of this grant, and as such, states must “ensure equal access for eligible children to child care services that are comparable to child care services in the State that are provided to children whose parents are not eligible to receive assistance.” Equal access cannot happen without an increase in funding for child care subsidies to bring the rates up to 2017 costs, as well as a system that provides higher subsidy rates for higher quality. In fact, the federal government will not fully approve New Jersey’s CCDBG plan until the state addresses the low subsidy reimbursement rates. As a first step, ACNJ recommends that New Jersey starts by providing funds to correct the current inequitable rate structure for infants to reflect the higher cost of providing child care for babies.

Child care is one of six key issues ACNJ is highlighting as part of its #NJVotes4Kids Campaign. Help raise awareness by sharing the infographic below. Let legislative and gubernatorial candidates know they need to make this issue a priority.

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