What’s New?

While finding child care is a challenge for many working parents, a new study reveals a deep shortage of options for New Jersey’s very young children. The report, No Room for Babies: Center-based Infant-Toddler Child Care in Short Supply by Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), finds that less than a third of children under age 3 have access to child care to help them grow and develop.

NJ’s Child Care Quality Rating System Shortchanges Providers Caring for Low-Income Children

Despite New Jersey’s implementation of a child care rating system that helps working parents find the best care for their young children, a new study by Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) shows that many child care centers in low-income communities would face enormous challenges meeting and sustaining these higher state standards that define quality – unless the state is able to provide the necessary resources.

“This report provides crucial recommendations for changing how New Jersey pays child care providers in order to support high-quality care for our youngest children – particularly those from low income families,” said Arturo Brito, Executive Director of The Nicholson Foundation, which funded this study.

Read news release

Read NJ 101.5’s story on the dilemma facing child care centers

Read the executive summary with ACNJ’s recommendations
Out of Reach: Sustaining a High Quality Child Care System in New Jersey

Read the report Quality Costs How Much? Estimating the Cost of Quality Child Care in New Jersey

View PowerPoint Presentation

This report is one of several reports to be released in the upcoming months to look at child care issues in New Jersey.