What’s New?

Showing Up Matters: How does your school district stack up?

Posted on September 22, 2016

2016_09_22_chronic_absenteeism_email_picClick here to find out if your school district is on the “high-absenteeism” list.

In honor of Attendance Awareness Month, we encourage school districts, community members, and parents to recognize the important of making every day count.

Many districts accross the state are working hard to help reverse this trend.  View a video on how a Trenton middle school tackled chronic absenteeism.

Read the report and see what districts have “high-absenteeism” rates by county.

View pictures of the report release event.

Read in the news: These are the factors behind chronic absenteeism in New Jersey, NJTV

Recent release of U.S. Census data shows some good news for NJ

Posted on September 16, 2016

For the second year in a row, the number of New Jersey children living in poverty decreased according to new U.S. Census data released yesterday.

In 2015, roughly 308,000 of children lived in poverty, a 2 percent decrease from the 2014 figure of 315,000. Children living in low-income families, or those below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, decreased as well from 641,000 to 633,000. In 2015 the federal poverty level was defined as $24,250 for a family of four.

Income inequality for the state as a whole rose—indicating an increasing gap between the state’s neediest and most affluent residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, income inequality is the gap between the lowest and the highest earners.

The new data also indicated that New Jersey has the nation’s highest percentage of 18 to 34 year olds living in their parents’ households at 46.9 percent. Connecticut and New York had the second and third highest percentage of young adults residing with their parents at 41.6 percent and 40.6 percent. All three states were well above the national average of 34.1 percent.

The census data from the American Community Survey also indicated a drop in the number of uninsured children living in New Jersey, consistent with trends over the last few years. Currently there are roughly 75,000 children in the state living without health insurance, this translates to 3.8 percent of New Jersey’s children. Children living in low-income families also saw their numbers of uninsured shrink as well, dropping from 51,000 in 2014 to 45,000 in 2015.

See related stories:

NJ tops the nation in the number of millennials living with their parents.

Obamacare helping push N.J.’s uninsured rate to all-time low, data shows

 

ACNJ staff leaders and a new addition

Posted on September 7, 2016

Lead New Jersey “30 Leaders for 30 Years”

2016_09_07_Lead_NJ_Ceil_banner

Lead New Jersey is honoring 30 influential women and men who have showcased their leadership to us and our state throughout LNJ’s 30-year history. Congrats Ceil!

Check out other leaders that made the list.

 

New ACNJ emerging leaders!

2016_09_07_Carla_Ross_picCarla Ross, Operations Manager at ACNJ, has been accepted into the Victoria Foundation Emerging Leaders Program.  This 12 month leadership training is focused on increasing the number of highly effective nonprofit leaders, who have the practical knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to lead their organizations and better serve their communities.

Read more about the program.

 


Peter Chen, a staff attorney at ACNJ, will be participating in the first year of Collaborative Action Newark (CAN), a new initiative of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School. CAN seeks to expand the capacity for civic collaboration in Newark through values-based leadership development, peer support, and action.  Over a two-year period, participants will attend monthly sessions that will enable them to develop skills and learn best practices for working across sectors to solve civic problems.

 

Welcome new Leontine Young Fellow Jaime Kaiser

ACNJ is pleased to welcome our 2016 Leontine Young Fellow, Jaime Kaiser. Jaime, a second year Management and Policy student at Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work, will be working primarily with the ACNJ Early Learning Team with a focus on infant and toddler issues. She holds a B.A. in Family and Child Studies from Montclair State University.

Leontine Young, a founder of Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), believed that children needed an independent voice to ensure their best interests, a mission that has guided ACNJ’s work. Prior to her death in 1988, Dr. Young established a scholarship fund to help support students seeking their M.S.W. degree.

New Law Limits Expulsion for Students Grades K-2

Posted on September 7, 2016

bannedACNJ applauds new legislation signed into law on September 6 by Governor Christie that bans schools in New Jersey from expelling students in grades kindergarten through second grade. The new law also strictly limits schools from giving students out-of-school suspensions unless the conduct is dangerous to others.

ACNJ thanks bill sponsors Senators Teresa Ruiz and Shirley Turner and Assemblypersons Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Benjie Wimberley for this critical step to improving school discipline for young children.

But the work surrounding the bill is still unfinished. Limiting suspensions and expulsions is important, but school districts, educators, and the New Jersey Department of Education will need to determine how to implement the law in a way that addresses the causes of student misbehavior.

The new law requires that school districts identify students in preschool through grade two with behavioral problems and provide supports for these students. However, many districts may lack these supports for students, and the clock is ticking for the law to take effect starting next school year (fall 2017).

Read Press of Atlantic City story.

The bill expands on existing bans on expulsion and out-of-school suspension for state-funded preschool in New Jersey. New Jersey joins states such as California, Connecticut and Oregon that have limited or eliminated suspensions for children in the early grades.

ACNJ supports the new law; suspension and expulsion are inappropriate for young children. Keeping young children out of school leads to lost learning and does nothing to solve the cause of a child’s behavior. Thanks to advocates and legislators from around the state, the new law represents a step in the right direction.

The next step is for district and state education leaders to determine how to educate staff and faculty about the legal change, how to ensure that appropriate supports are put in place, and how to get resources for behavioral issues to schools and students.

States such as Connecticut have developed early childhood consultation partnerships that have succeeded in helping preschool and childcare providers reduce disruptive behavior without suspending or expelling students. The Connecticut program takes a team of community-based social workers to help teachers address problem behaviors early and provide support for families.

ACNJ encourages educators and community members from across the state to take the following steps:

• Educate yourself and others about the new law, which takes effect during school year 2017-18.
• Ask how your district will provide supports for young students who misbehave.
• Stay informed about what services will be provided and how to refer students to additional resources.

Additionally, families who need behavioral health services for their child’s behavior can contact New Jersey’s Children’s System of Care at 1-877-652-7624.