Posted on February 1, 2017
What’s New?
ACNJ Testimony on Preschool and New Jersey’s School Funding Formula
Posted on January 26, 2017
To: Assemblywoman Carride, Chairwoman, and Members
Assembly Education Committee
From: Cecilia Zalkind, President
Advocates for Children of New Jersey
Date: January 18, 2017
RE: Preschool and New Jersey’s School Funding Formula
Since 1999, New Jersey has provided high-quality preschool to children in communities with the highest percentage of low-income children. This nationally recognized preschool program has helped ensure that thousands of young children are ready for school. Through its high-quality mixed delivery system of public preschool, Head Start and child-care provider classrooms, children attain the skills necessary to be successful in kindergarten and beyond.
Our state’s high quality preschool standards, which include small class size, well prepared teachers and the implementation of a research-based curriculum provide participating children the best opportunity to begin school on a level playing field with those children whose families can provide such a quality learning experience. It also leverages New Jersey’s significant investment in K-12 education in maximizing student success by strengthening children’s readiness skills.
The program includes both three- and four-year olds, ensuring two years of a high-quality experience, which data indicates makes a difference in preparing children for school. And the benefits are clear. A longitudinal study by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has shown that participating children continue to perform exponentially better in language arts, literacy, math and science, impacting both their short- and long-term educational success.
In 2008, the NJ Legislature acknowledged the importance of this successful program by including it as an important provision of the 2008 School Funding Reform Act (SFRA). This law called for preschool to be expanded to thousands of additional three- and four-year old children in low-income communities, who did not have access to quality preschool because of where they lived. Noting that almost one-half half of children from low-income families lived outside school districts providing state-funded preschool, the SFRA promised to provide all preschoolers living in the next tier of low-income communities with the same quality program being provided to children in our lowest income districts. All other school districts were targeted to receive per pupil funding to provide preschool to their children from low-income families.
High-quality preschool was a key priority of SFRA, and with good reason. It was one of the few areas of the bill that had strong support amongst all of the stakeholders, and data to show that children were benefiting long-term. It was a win-win decision, both for our most vulnerable children who lacked access to quality preschool, and for our state. It was a sound investment in a program with a winning track record.
Unfortunately, NJ has not kept its promise to our youngest citizens. The preschool expansion promised in the SFRA was never funded, denying children the opportunity to start school with a strong foundation. While there is near universal support for high-quality preschool, fiscal constraints over the last several years have continued to move preschool further down our state’s list of funding priorities. Except for four districts that received preschool funding soon after the formula became law and recent federal support, our national model continues to remain out of reach for thousands of three- and four-year olds in our state whose families and their local school districts cannot pay for such quality.
Consequently, thousands of children have missed out on their opportunity for starting school with a greater chance of educational success because of preschool. On the first day of kindergarten, no child should have two strikes against them because their parents or the community in which they live couldn’t afford to provide a quality preschool or because they were not lucky enough to live within a zip code in which funding for preschool was available.
This low priority is now impacting our existing state-funded preschools. During the last few years, existing programs have significantly felt the pinch of flat or near-flat funding. Current funding does not even begin to cover the rising costs that school districts face to provide quality early education for young learners. Whether it is reducing support staff, supplies and technology, maintaining teachers or doing away with field trips, in the end, New Jersey’s state-funded preschools are struggling and it is the children who are most affected.
The erosion of funding to existing programs and the lack of promised funding for expansion puts our nationally recognized preschool model, one of New Jersey’s most successful educational reform initiatives, at risk. However, this is a problem that can be solved. Ensuring that young children have or continue to have access to quality preschool experiences must become a higher funding priority in our state. It is already the law. What is needed now is real commitment to our children’s educational success.
Blog: Making the Case for More Reforms to the Juvenile Justice System
Posted on January 25, 2017
Making the Case for More Reforms to the Juvenile Justice System
Over the last decade, developments in adolescent brain science and psychology have shown what common sense already suggested – that there are fundamental differences between the brains of teenagers and adults. Teen brains are not yet fully developed, making them more likely to engage in risky and impulsive behavior without weighing the consequences and succumbing to peer pressure. The good news is that their brains are still growing, increasing the odds of changing for the better.
This research is making the case for reforms in New Jersey’s juvenile justice system.
In a recent decision, a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court recognized that teenagers should not be locked up for long sentences without considering their individual circumstances. Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote that judges must “take into account how children are different, and how those differences counsel against irrevocably sentencing them to a lifetime in prison,” citing a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Miller v Alabama.
Justice Rabner noted that “Because of their young age at the time of their crimes, both defendants can expect to spend more than a half century in jail before they may be released – longer than the time served by some adults convicted of first-degree murder.”
While the defendants in the case committed very serious, violent crimes when they were juveniles, this decision makes it clear that New Jersey’s constitution does not allow courts to jail young people for the rest of their lives without considering the specific differences of youth. Under this decision, both young men are entitled to be resentenced.
Brain science research is appropriately influencing laws, policies and practices concerning youth who come into contact with law enforcement. Although teens should be held accountable for their actions, the goal of the juvenile justice system is for young offenders to return to their communities equipped with the skills they need to stay out of trouble and mature into productive adults.
To that end, in August 2015, the NJ Legislature and Governor Christie made significant reforms to our juvenile justice system. These smart reforms limited the use of solitary confinement in juvenile facilities, revamped the state law that allowed juveniles to be tried as adults in criminal court, added protections to ensure the safety of juveniles transferred to adult facilities, and required the collection of much needed data.
As a member of the Youth Justice New Jersey Coalition, ACNJ worked with sponsors of the legislation to ensure that the reforms helped New Jersey youth. This coalition is continuing its work to reform other aspects of the juvenile justice system. The research clearly indicates that a system focused on rehabilitation and prevention yields far better results. ACNJ’s most recent juvenile justice forum brought together law enforcement and education stakeholders to focus on prevention and how to avoid the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Visit ACNJ’s website to find presentations and resources.
New Jersey is a national model in the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), a national project led by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which is focused on reducing the number of youth confined in county detention facilities. JDAI has resulted in far fewer youth being incarcerated in longer-term Juvenile Justice Commission facilities without risk to public safety. For more information about the results of JDAI in New Jersey, read ACNJ’s Special Kids Count Report: Juvenile Justice. But extreme racial inequalities persist within the New Jersey juvenile justice system that must be addressed. A new report, Bring our Children Home: Ain’t I A Child, released by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, found that while black and white youth engage in similar offenses at about the same rates overall, New Jersey’s black youth are disproportionately incarcerated. While progress has been made, more work is needed.
If you are interested in becoming involved in the work of the coalition, please me at ACNJ, mcoogan@acnj.org. Together, we can make a difference!
Sincerely,
ACNJ testifies to ensure safety of children in family day care
Posted on January 20, 2017
To: Members, Assembly Committee for Women and Children
From: Cecilia Zalkind, Executive Director, Cynthia Rice, Senior Policy Analyst
Date: January 19, 2017
Re: A4262/S651 Requiring registered family day providers and certain household members to undergo criminal history record background checks
Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) appreciates the opportunity to provide the following comments regarding A4262/S651, which would require registered family day care providers and certain household members to undergo criminal history record background checks.
This bill is long overdue. Comprehensive background checks are a basic safeguard essential to protect children in family child care settings and minimize their risks to potential abuse and neglect. This is particularly important as so many of these homes care for our youngest children, infants and toddlers, who are too young to communicate any problems that might develop. There are approximately 2000 registered family child care homes in our state and a large percentage of the children in those homes are under the age of three. Parents need to be secure in knowing that their child care providers and other adults in the home who have contact with their children have no record of engaging in behaviors that would disqualify them for providing care.
Although the new federal Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) mandates require all registered family child care providers receiving child care subsidies to undergo a comprehensive criminal history background check, the mandate does not take effect until October of 2017 and it still may take years after that before all providers actually meet this requirement. Moreover, the federal law will only apply to family child care providers that accept subsidy payments. All children need to be protected as soon as possible, not sometime in the future. It is essential that this requirement be mandated for all family child caregivers and be implemented immediately.
The background process outlined in the bill is the same as center-based child care providers must complete and the cost, which will be procured by the provider, is not unduly burdensome at about $40 per person.
This common-sense bill places children’s safety first. ACNJ urges the Committee members to vote in favor of A4262.
Our Response to Gov. Christie’s State of the State Address
Posted on January 11, 2017
Medicaid Expansion was a Wise Move for New Jersey
Yesterday, Governor Christie gave a compelling and passionate speech in his State of the State address. It focused on an issue that has clearly touched him deeply and personally – drug addiction. His comprehensive plan to reduce addiction – prevention, treatment and recovery for both adults and children – included some innovative approaches, like recovery dorms for college students following treatment. He also called for expanding residential services to 18-and 19-year-olds to make sure that they do not have to wait for treatment. And he put forward a bold plan to prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage for treatment. Click here for a full text of the governor’s address.
In announcing his plan, the governor acknowledged that expanding Medicaid in New Jersey was a wise move, which was made possible through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Governor Christie was one of the few Republican governors who accepted the expansion so that more low-income citizens had access to health care. Yesterday, he highlighted its success, noting that more than 14,300 people received drug treatment because they qualified for Medicaid.
Medicaid expansion was a major win for New Jersey children and families. However, leadership changes in Washington bring threats to critical federal programs for children and families, including the ACA. Here at ACNJ, we are gearing up for a busy and challenging year ahead and pushing for more wins for kids. We are staying committed to advancing our ambitious agenda for children: expanding access to high-quality preschool, improving school attendance, tackling child hunger and ensuring access to health care.
ACNJ will continue to be here in these volatile times to keep you informed and help you take action on the issues you care about. Our reports, alerts and social media posts will keep you up-to-date so you can advocate with our state and national leaders. 2017 is Governor Christie’s final year and last budget. A new governor and legislature will be elected this November. Our #NJVotes4Kids Campaign will help make children’s issues prominent in the upcoming election and hold candidates accountable.
So, kudos to the governor for acknowledging the success of New Jersey’s Medicaid expansion and for his bold plan to address addiction. The Affordable Care Act has been essential in expanding health coverage and supports for substance abuse treatment. Governor Christie’s plan to combat substance abuse depends on continued access to health coverage, which we hope will make him a powerful ally in the fight ahead on the ACA.
This year, we plan to expand our outreach to you. We are starting the ACNJ blog series, providing timely information in addition to our regular communication. These blogs will give you an inside look at the issues of the day. Another added bonus: you’ll get to know the talented, dedicated ACNJ staff a little bit better.
Sincerely,
