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April 2023 Update – Message from Mary

Posted on April 19, 2023

Posted 1/13/2023

Mary Coogan, Esq., ACNJ Vice President

Mary Coogan, Esq.
ACNJ Pres/CEO

ACNJ: One Mission, Many Faces

On March 29th, ACNJ staff and board hosted a celebration for ACNJ former president Cecilia Zalkind, acknowledging her nearly four decades of advocacy on behalf of children and families. Ceil certainly felt the love in the room, as stories were shared by staff, board, funders, and family. It was a memorable event that raised $65,000 to establish the Cecilia Zalkind Parent Advocacy Fellowship. Click here to donate to the fellowship. 

As Ceil spoke at her retirement celebration, ACNJ is not just about one person, but a reflection of all the committed individuals – our strong partners, community advocates, parents and the amazing staff and board that help shape and advance our wins for children. As the new president and CEO, I am excited to lead the  efforts to continue our mission of ensuring all children have the opportunity to grow up safe, healthy, and educated. 

ACNJ staff is working hard to accomplish ACNJ's mission:

  • Winifred Smith-Jenkins has joined our staff as our new Director of Early Learning Policy and Advocacy in March. Winifred brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her role, including over two decades of managing three successful family-owned child care programs, building relationships, managing construction, and engaging in community service initiatives. Her expertise in child care and early learning complements our current efforts and will prove invaluable in guiding our policy work and overall operations.
  • Senior Policy Analyst Cynthia Rice is leading our budget advocacy and legislative work, focused on addressing New Jersey’s child care staffing crisis and continuing to expand preschool. 
  • Policy Analyst Diane Dellanno finished her analysis of our statewide survey of child care centers with the report, Still No Room for Babies: Child Care Staffing Crisis Impacts Supply of Infant-Toddler Child Care. The survey documents a widespread shortage of infant and toddler child care in our state. 
  • Aaliyah Roulhac is heading up our Reimagine Child Care Campaign. Quality child care is the foundation of success for our children, and for the state of New Jersey. We envision a future where every family has the option of affordable, quality care, and where providers have the training and resources they need to provide it. Join the movement.
  • Kids Count Coordinator Alena Siddiqui is gearing up to release our New Jersey County Pocket Guide 2023 in May, which includes data on the impact of COVID-19 on New Jersey children and families. We are looking for venues to bring people together to review and talk about the data. If your organization would like to co-sponsor a data conversation with us, please contact me at mcoogan@acnj.org.
  • And finally, Development Director Steve Clayton is planning our second annual ACNJ Race for Kids, to be held in September. Stay tuned for details.

Clearly ACNJ staff is busy. Updates are regularly posted to the ACNJ website. All of our work on behalf of children and families happens because of your support and partnership!

 

Warmly,

Mary Coogan
ACNJ Pres/CEO

16 Years Later, NJ’s College Credit Transfer Law Continues Helping Students

Posted on April 14, 2023

ACNJ Senior Policy Analyst, Cynthia Rice, helped usher NJ's College Credit Transfer Law through both Houses of the Legislature.

A recent report regarding New Jersey’s College Credit Transfer Law showed that this 16-year-old piece of legislation is still helping students navigate the complexities of transferring credits from one institution of higher education to another. Known as the “Lampitt Law,” it aimed to make transferring college credits from a community college to a four-year university easier for students by requiring these institutions to create transfer agreements. Prior to the law, these agreements either did not exist or were inadequate. Too often, students would take classes at their local community colleges and later find out that they would not transfer to a four-year institution, consequently costing the students both time and money.

While the problem had been an issue for quite some time, the need to address it came to a head when a 2000 preschool decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court case of Abbott v. Burke required all teachers in child care programs implementing state-funded preschool to obtain a Bachelor’s degree in four years or lose their positions. A significant percentage of teachers did not hold a degree and needed to return to school—but the clock was ticking and there was no time to waste. Impediments like worrying about whether or not child care workers, who frequently began their formal education in their local community colleges, would lose time by taking classes that ultimately would not transfer, was not an option and the problem had to be solved. 

Educational stakeholders, including ACNJ’s Cynthia Rice, first brought attention to the issue by urging Senator Ronald Rice to hold hearings before the Joint Committee of the Public Schools and then shepherded the bill through both Houses of the Legislature and ultimately participated in the bill’s signing by former Governor Corzine, in Camden County, Assemblywoman Lampitt’s Legislative District. 

The law made it possible for more child care teachers to successfully return to college before the Court’s deadline. But even after so much time, the law remains relevant and important for students who begin their higher education in our community college system. What was once meant, 16 years ago, to help a small population of students has since then provided a clearer pathway for all community college students to successfully attain a college degree.

Blog: Black Maternal Health Is…

Posted on April 14, 2023

Blog-headline

Posted 4/14/2023

20210109_135857

By Rose-Anne Uwague, Parent Ambassador, ACNJ Parent Leadership Council

Parent of three children ages 6, 8, and a newborn. Lives in Jersey City in Legislative District 31.
Advocating for better breastfeeding policies and accessible quality child care.

I used to think very black or white. It’s either this or that.

Now, I am exploring the gray and becoming more comfortable with it.

Have you heard of the tension of the opposites? Simply put, it is the idea that two seemingly opposite things can be true at the same time. Motherhood is a great example. And so is Black maternal health. To me, it is both/and.

As we celebrate Black Maternal Health Week, I reflect on my motherhood journey and conclude that motherhood is a paradox. For background, my husband and I are parents to three boys ages 8, 6, and a newborn born March 2023. Our two older sons were born in New York City using the same hospital and obstetrician. I didn’t know a lot about the disparities in healthcare and I never experienced any ill-treatment or poor service. We are now New Jerseyans and in 2020, I became a maternal health advocate.

Motherhood is both rewarding and utterly challenging at the same time.

It can bring joy and pain…

It is beautiful and messy…

You get the idea.

In the same light, Black Maternal Health Week is both a joyous acknowledgment and a disheartening call for action. Why the emphasis on Black? I believe that the health of ALL mothers matter.

Well, according to the World Health Organization, the majority of birth-related deaths were preventable and while progress has been made, significant disparities still exist in our communities. The emphasis is a desperate outcry because the CDC reports that Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.

The State of New Jersey has a slightly different statistic and I was floored to learn that New Jersey ranks 47th in the nation for maternal deaths (flip that statistic - in a country with 50 states, NJ is the third deadliest state to deliver a baby) and has one of the widest racial disparities for both maternal and infant mortality. A Black mother in New Jersey is over seven times more likely than a white mother to die from maternity-related complications, and a Black baby is over three times more likely than a white baby to die before his or her first birthday.

Whether it is three more times or seven more times, knowledge is power, and at the same time, ignorance is bliss. I was very intentional about what I consumed via media, articles, and information. I knew that I had to protect my heart and my mind so I would not have a victim mentality or gross distrust for professionals who genuinely wanted to help me. When I interviewed doulas to support me in my birthing journey, I asked them to hold me accountable to one thing - having a balanced approach to medical opinions. In other words, not allowing my knowledge of misuse, abuse, systemic issues, and poor maternal outcomes to cloud my judgment or tarnish my ability to trust the medical staff.

My care team included a strong relationship with God, a supportive husband, our two sons, family, and friends, a chiropractor, an obstetrician, a nurse, and an amazing doula. I am thrilled to report that I had an amazing birthing experience.

I recall thanking the care team and coming to tears of joy feeling so blessed and grateful to have had such a positive experience. Immediately after, the tears of joy became hot, passionate, and angry tears as that gratitude was also fueled by the fact that I did not become a statistic or have a traumatic experience.

My gratitude should not be in spite of my Blackness. The treatment I received should be accessible to every woman. So as we celebrate mothers and babies globally and uplift Black maternal health, I call on the maternal health community—health administrators, policymakers, clinicians, advocates — to shift the narrative from victim to victor, and from Black woman to human.

Reignite Black birthing joy.

Reclaim humanity.

Birthing is a beautiful experience and it should be FOR ALL.

Black maternal health can be both informative and inspiring. Then we lose the tension and engage in positivity.

I’m Rose-Anne Uwague, an Executive Function Productivity Coach, maternal health advocate, wife to King Izoduwa, and a mom of three boys.

New Jersey’s Child Care Crisis Highlighted in the News

Posted on April 13, 2023

From participating a roundtable discussion with Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill to sharing her insight with news radio NJ 101.5, ACNJ Senior Policy Analyst Cynthia Rice recently spoke on the state's child care crisis. The high cost for parents and a child care staffing shortage were cited as the the two main reasons parents struggle to the find the care they need to enable them to go to work.

“There are no teachers to fill those classrooms because they can go elsewhere and make more money," Rice said. “Too often, child care providers can only afford to offer minimum wage and no benefits, and as a result people are going elsewhere.”

Read More:

This is How Unaffordable Child Care is for Most Families | NJ 101.5 FM | April 1, 2023

Mikie Sherrill addresses childcare crisis at Chatham Township panel | NewJerseyHills.com | April 4, 2023

Sherrill pushes for more affordable and accessible childcare | NJ Spotlight | April 4, 2023

'On the brink': Sherrill, state officials discuss solutions to child care crisis | Daily Record | April 4, 2023

Read More of ACNJ in the News

Q&A with Tonique, A Full Spectrum Community Doula

Posted on April 12, 2023

Blog-headline
Dr. Tonique Griffin, Community Doula

An interview conducted with Dr. Tonique Griffin, Full Spectrum Community Doula and Advocate

What inspired you to become a community doula?
I have always been a nurturer. I'm the oldest of five kids. I grew up in the Hayes Homes in Newark in the ‘70s and ‘80s. It was kind of rough growing up back during those days and I would watch over my siblings from early on, like at 6- or 7-years-old. My grandma always told me, “You’ve got to look out for them. You're a second mom.”

Fast forward to 2017, my youngest daughter was about to graduate high school and I thought, “I'm not going to have anybody home. What am I going to do with myself?” I went to a yoga class and a young lady came and told us about the opportunity to work as a doula in New Jersey. And that’s how it started. I felt I could leave a legacy for myself by supporting moms because it's always been evident that not enough information or resources were readily available in our community.

What was the process of becoming a doula like?
I applied for the training and went to an info session. That’s when I learned about the statistics of maternal health and about infant mortality in New Jersey. I saw the difference between Black and Brown birth outcomes versus white statistics. And I'm like, “What? Really? Why?”

The training was a really impactful eight days, eight days with other women sharing their own birth stories and life experiences and all of us building up the passion to support other women. It truly was one of the most amazing eight days I've had in a long, long, time. I felt inspired and empowered to serve as a doula.

Can you tell us about your first client?
It was a beautiful experience. We bonded even outside of the regular visit. We would talk on the phone and I would check on her. I sort of fill the gap for mothers that don't have that support system readily available. The mom was 19 and she was on her own. I was able to help her advocate for what she wanted - a vaginal birth experience without an epidural.

How was the process to get credentialed as a doula?
My earliest challenges of becoming one of the first New Jersey Medicaid credentialed community doula providers back in 2021 was when I began the process of becoming credentialed with each of the five managed care organizations (MCOs) - WellCare, United Healthcare (UHC), Amerigroup, Aetna, and Horizon NJ Health. In order to contract with the organizations and charge New Jersey Medicaid for doula services, one must first sign a contract with each MCO.

It was a very slow process - several of the MCOs wanted doulas to complete the same applications required for medical providers, even if the information asked was not relevant, in addition to listing home addresses as public provider addresses. This alone was concerning.

Overall, it was a very daunting process. In fact, there have been a number of clients that I have supported that I have not been compensated for. Sometimes, dealing with the billing stuff, it takes time.

That is high on my priority list to get a better understanding of navigating the medical billing system. I would like to see a little bit more uniformity for the credentialing process with the field.

What has been your experience working with medical providers?
It’s been overall positive, but sometimes I’m seen as more of a friend or visitor than a trained healthcare professional. Being treated as a visitor versus being treated as staff, I think really speaks to, unfortunately, the underappreciated role of the doula. This is the case sometimes in the hospital setting but more specifically at my employer. Recently, I've been asked to introduce myself to the providers (@ my employer) when I've been employed for a year and a half. I feel administration can do more to facilitate the relationship with doulas and provide the environment where doulas feel respected, not just existing for the sake of satisfying grant responsibilities.

Where are you seeing that there are opportunities for the system to be improved on?
Healthcare systems, healthcare providers, and Insurance providers can facilitate better relationships with doulas by becoming knowledgeable of doula care. It's still a challenge for my employer to understand me being chosen to be a person's doula is different from being assigned to be someone's doula. Also, the PRA (perinatal risk assessment) utilization/access should be more transparent to patients and even doulas. I understand security levels and information privacy have to be considered, but I feel it's under-utilized.

What do you think are ways that we could bridge gaps to make sure every expecting parent has the opportunity to have the support of a doula, should they want one?
Education. If you have insurance, you should know if doula services are covered and there should be information about what a doula is. Once the insurance carrier knows that a member is pregnant, they can send them a letter or email. “Congratulations, you're pregnant. And these are all of the services that you are entitled to.” Some MCOs offer more than just doula support, some offer breastfeeding (lactation) support, supplies for mothers and babies, and a Care Coordinator to check in with them "often".

Information and resources are something that if you don't know about it, you'll never benefit from.