What’s New?

Register: 2023 ACNJ/NJ DCF Summer Forum

Posted on July 10, 2023

Each year, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) and the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (NJ DCF) team up to share with stakeholders the latest news and events impacting children and families in the child welfare system.

Join us in an upcoming forum as we discuss the recently approved fiscal 2024 budget, the NJ Statewide Student Support Services’ (NJ4S) launch, the Sibling Bill of Rights’ implementation, updates from the Staffing and Oversight Review Subcommittee (SORS), and more.

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Big Budget with Big Wins for Kids

Posted on July 6, 2023

Here are highlights of New Jersey's FY2024 budget spending on children and families.

On June 30th, Governor Murphy signed into law the largest budget in state history – $54.5 billion for FY2024, a 7% increase in state spending. The budget will cover all of the state’s planned spending from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. There were some big wins for children and families! Two of those “wins” included HealthySteps and preschool mixed delivery budget resolutions that ACNJ and its partners were instrumental in ensuring were included in the budget!

Below are some of the budget highlights:

Education and Child Care

  • Continuing child care subsidy payments based on enrollment.
  • Continuing the $300/monthly child care subsidy family differential payment.
  • Continuing the family subsidy co-pay waiver.
  • $116 million for state-funded preschool (Preschool Education Aid), $40 million of which will go towards expanding public preschool in new districts. This amount will bring the total state funding for preschool to more than $1 billion.
  • Requiring any new school district receiving Preschool Education Aid to demonstrate due diligence in establishing partnerships to provide its preschool program with licensed child care and Head Start programs that are willing and able to meet the preschool standards. 
  • An increase of $832 million in the K-12 school funding formula and $103 million in supplementary stabilization aid to help school districts adjust to changes in aid based on enrollment.
  • An increase in the eligibility threshold for both Community College Opportunity Grants and Garden State Guarantee for students with family incomes of up to $100,000.
  • $20 million to support teacher training, including $10 million for student teacher stipends, $5 million to waive teacher certification fees, $2 million for culture and climate innovation grants, and $1 million for teacher loan redemption.
  • $20 million to support the creation of a Social Impact Investment Fund, which will provide below-market loans for socially conscious projects in distressed communities, including child care facilities.

Tax Credits

  • The current state level Child Tax Credit will double from a maximum of $500 to a $1,000 refundable tax credit for families with children under the age of 6 whose household earnings are $80,000 or less.

Health Care and Family Services

  • $32 million for the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Authority and the Maternal Innovation Center in Trenton.
  • $15.6 million for the Universal Nurse Home Visitation Program.
  • $2.5 million for Perinatal Workforce Training and Education.
  • $2 million for Nurture NJ Awareness Initiative.
  • $400,000 to implement the NJ Breast Feeding Strategic Plan.
  • $500,000 to establish a program that provides an enhanced payment for well-child and sick visit claims submitted for children under four years of age at HealthySteps sites.

ACNJ will continue to provide post-budget updates as additional information becomes available. Stay tuned!

Full-day school districts now eligible for PreK funds, but must ACT NOW!

Posted on July 5, 2023

CHILD CARE, HEAD START PROVIDERS, PARENTS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS:
It's time to ramp up your advocacy to bring preschool expansion to your community!

The New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) has advised all New Jersey school districts providing full-day kindergarten that they will be eligible to apply for preschool expansion for the 2023-24 school year, regardless of districts’ Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) percentages.

What does this mean? If your district provides full-day kindergarten, administrators can apply for public preschool funding!

During the first week of July, districts will receive additional details from the DOE on how the funding will be distributed which will be based on FRPL percentages. Districts that apply will need to provide a start date no later than January 1, 2024. This allows additional time to prepare classrooms for operation. Districts only will be required to attend one of two mandatory DOE meetings on July 10 or July 11th.

The first step is for EVERYONE to reach out to their school district administrators and urge them to apply for the funding!  When you have done that, make sure that your friends and neighbors do the same. Time is of the essence and this contact should happen as soon as possible.

Child care and Head Start providers make sure you include in your communications, that you are interested in collaborating with the school district to maximize the number of 3- and 4-year-olds who can benefit from high-quality state-funded preschool AND that your program already meets or will be able to meet the standards.

Not sure how to begin?  ACNJ’s website and the preschool expansion toolkit can help! Here you will find a sample letter and letter to the editor.

Please don’t wait! Start reaching out to your district ASAP!  Make sure your district applies for the funding; and if you are a child care provider, make sure your program is a part of any future collaboration!

Have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Cynthia Rice at crice@acnj.org.