What’s New?

Fund to feed kids becomes law (Nourishing Young Minds Initiative Fund)

Posted on July 21, 2017

Today, Governor Chris Christie sign into law a fund that will dedicate state dollars to feed children facing hunger.

Under the bill, S-2819/A-4363 (Sweeney, Ruiz, Lesniak/Taliaferro, Andrzejczak, Lampitt, Mosquera, Holley, Quijano), the Nourishing Young Minds Initiative Fund would defray the costs of effectively implementing the federal school breakfast and summer meals programs in high-poverty communities, helping to increase the number of low-income children receiving these meals. Because towns are reimbursed based on the number of meals served, this would bring more federal dollars into New Jersey communities to feed hungry kids.

Check out the video clip from event introducing this legislation.

New Jersey Kids Count 2017 County Rankings out!

Posted on July 10, 2017

Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) released its annual Kids Count county profiles and pocket guide today, comparing the state’s 21 counties across 12 measures of child well-being and providing 5-year child trend data at the state and county level. This year, instead of giving an overall rank for each county, ACNJ took a different approach, comparing counties across four domains: child and family economics, child health, safety and well-being, and education. Read more…

Download Pocket Guide

View county profiles

Download 2017 individual county news releases.

NJ Senate Unanimously Supports Chronic Absenteeism Bill!

Posted on June 27, 2017

On June 26th, all 40 of New Jersey’s State Senators voted unanimously in favor of S447, the Chronic Absenteeism Bill!

With 147,000 or 10.5 percent of the state’s PreK-12th graders identified as chronically absent in the 2015-2016 school year, this bill is a strong first-step in improving school attendance. The bill ensures that every district is using the same definition when measuring student absences and requires that all School Report Cards include data on chronic absenteeism so that the public can be apprised of whether schools in their communities are struggling with too many students missing too much school.

Lastly, the bill moves from just reporting data to ensuring action by requiring schools with 10 percent or more of their students identified as being chronically absent to develop a chronic absenteeism plan, which must include parent input. S447 recognizes, in a non-punitive way, that even schools that are struggling with high absentee rates can make a difference in turning the tide on those rates with a clear plan and a concerted effort.

Thanks to Senator Diane Allen’s (R-7) leadership in sponsoring the bill and shepherding it through the Senate, it is now headed to the Assembly Education Committee for hearings.

Learn more on chronic absenteeism in New Jersey.

Learn more about U.S. chronic absenteeism.

$25 million proposed for prek expansion in state budget

Posted on June 19, 2017

Late last week, legislative leaders Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto announced a deal that would add $125 million in state aid for public education to the proposed state budget which includes $25 million for preschool expansion!

This is a long overdue step in putting young children first by providing more 3- and 4-year olds with a strong educational foundation for kindergarten and beyond.
But it’s not a done deal…….
The next step is for both the Senate and Assembly to vote on this budget. It is critical that your state legislators hear that YOU support the $25 million included in the budget to expand preschool.

Voice your support:

Send a message to your state senator and BOTH Assembly members today.

If you have another minute, please thank Senate President Sweeney and Speaker Prieto for including funding preschool expansion in the proposed budget.

They can be reached at by email or phone at:

Senate President Sweeney SenSweeney@njleg.org (856) 251-9801/(856) 339-0808 (call either office)
Assembly Speaker Prieto AsmPrieto@njleg.org (201) 770-1303

Sample script:
Hello, my name is (your name) and I’m from (your town). I’m calling to express my thanks and support for the $25 million in preschool expansion funds added to the proposed state budget. Their leadership demonstrates a strong commitment to providing more children with quality early learning, giving kids the skills necessary to be successful in school and in life.

If you have any questions, please contact Cynthia Rice at 973-643-3876 or at crice@acnj.org.