What’s New?

Survey for Center-Based Child Care Facilities on ARPA Stabilization Funds

Posted on June 1, 2023

ATTENTION CENTER-BASED CHILD CARE PROVIDERS!

Stabilization Funds:  How did you use it, how did it help, and what will happen once you have spent it?

ACNJ WANTS TO KNOW!

In March 2021, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP Act) (Pub. Law 117-2) into law which included nearly $24 billion of child care stabilization grants. The grants were aimed to provide financial relief to child care providers by helping with unexpected business costs due to the pandemic and providing financial stability to these businesses in order to continue to provide care. 

Two years later, the money has been distributed to New Jersey child care providers and there has been little conversation in Washington as to the importance of the funding and the need for additional dollars to help an industry that continues to struggle.

In order to better understand the impact that this funding has had on child care programs and the consequences of the funding ending, we are asking center-based providers to complete this survey.  Your input is critical to supply ACNJ and its partners with the information we need to make the case with New Jersey’s Congressional delegation that child care providers need additional funding to support their programs and the children and families in which they care for and educate!

DON’T WAIT TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY!  ACNJ is headed to Washington, DC on June 5th to make the case for child care, so please complete the survey before then! It will take just a few minutes of your time but your input is so important to these advocacy efforts!! 

THANK YOU!

Assemblywoman Dunn (R) Reimagines Child Care in New Jersey

Posted on May 31, 2023

Recently, Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R) District 25, assistant Republican whip, appeared on Think Tank with Steve Adubato, sharing her vision of what child care can be in the Garden State.

Child care impacts so many facets of our state’s economy that improving the system can create a domino effect of positive change. When we prioritize families in New Jersey, the workforce is strengthened and communities are given a chance to thrive.

View the Recording – Bringing State-Funded Preschool to Your District

Posted on May 19, 2023

On May 17, 2023, parents and community members learned how to advocate for free, full-day, state-funded preschool in their districts. Keynote speakers included ACNJ Senior Policy Analyst Cynthia Rice, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER)'s Early Childhood Education Technical Assistance Specialist Beth Ann Gardiner, and Tezeta "Tez" Roro, M.B.A., a parent advocate who helped establish state-funded preschool in her community in West Orange, New Jersey. She currently serves as a leader on the West Orange PTA.

Preschool Expansion Roadmap for Parents, Providers, Districts

Posted on May 16, 2023

A strong early care and education system that includes high-quality preschool provides young children with the educational foundation they need to be successful in kindergarten and beyond.  For more than 20 years, New Jersey’s nationally recognized preschool program has served thousands of young children throughout the state.

Since 2017, the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has made significant investments in expanding preschool to additional districts. State-funded preschool is offered in some school districts— but not all. However, that number has been growing.

Read the following reports that provide roadmaps to bring public preschool to eligible districts.