Posted on September 22, 2015
New Census data shows NJ child poverty drops and more children are insured. But despite the statewide one year decline, some counties, including some traditionally wealthy areas, experienced significant increases in poverty.
Posted on September 10, 2015
ACNJ’s latest report, Showing Up Matters: The State of Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey highlights statewide data, identifies causes that lead to student absences, provides recommendations for schools and families and identifies districts, by county that are struggling with high student absences.
Posted on August 12, 2015
| Thank the Governor for taking an important step forward for youth in NJ. |
| Thank Sen. Nellie Pou for her leadership in advancing this juvenile justice reform. |
A big win for New Jersey juvenile justice reform advocates! Gov. Christie just signed the juvenile justice reform bipartisan bill( S2003/A4299). Here are some key highlights of the legislation.
Eliminates solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure. This practice can only be used for a youth that poses an “immediate and substantial risk of harm to others” and only after all other options have been exhausted.
Now fewer youth can be waived to adult court. The bill increased the age a juvenile can be “waived” into adult court, from 14 to 15 and narrowed the list of applicable offenses. Sentences for youth waived to adult court may still be served in a youth facility until the age of 21 and the youth may remain there beyond that time at the discretion of the Commission.
Ensures much needed data. The Juvenile Justice Commission will be required to collect and publish data.
The reforms just signed into law by Governor Christie will continue to make New Jerseys juvenile justice system smarter and safer.
For more details regarding the reforms, read the release from the NJ Juvenile Justice Coalition, of which ACNJ is a member. The coalition worked to ensure that this legislation was good for New Jersey youth.
Posted on July 28, 2015
Most children, in the first years of their lives, experience multiple environments of care and learning. As children transition from child care to preschool, preschool to kindergarten, kindergarten to first grade, etc., too often, little attention is paid to how they acclimate to those changes or how early learning programs are prepared for their arrival.
ACNJ’s newly released policy brief, Right from the Start: Guiding Young Children’s Transitions in the Early Years, outlines current early learning transition practices in New Jersey and makes recommendations to strengthen these practices so that transitions are smoother for children, families and educators, alike. The report includes a review of state guidelines and regulations, findings from a survey of early education professors and a parent focus group.
Learn about ACNJ’s work in aligning preschool through 3rd grade education.
Browse ACNJ’s early learning publications and activities.
Posted on July 19, 2015
This year, the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2015 KIDS COUNT Data Book report focuses on key trends in child well-being in the post-recession years. The state maintained its overall Kids Count ranking of 8th nationally, primarily because of improvements in child health, but a growing number of New Jersey children living with parents who lack secure employment and who struggle to meet their children’s basic needs, pushed the state to 26th place nationally for the economic well-being of families.
The AECF’s annual national Kids Count report, tracks child well-being on a state-level across the nation on four domains: economic well being, education, health, and family and community.
