Posted on June 7, 2022
Kinship Legal Guardianship (KLG) may be an option for certain Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P) cases when the child has been under a resource parent's care for a long time, and it is unlikely that the child will be able to be safely reunited with their parent. Learn about KLG and what it entails in our updated guide. Note, this guide is offered as part of ACNJ's KidLaw Resource Center. Learn more about KidLaw at https://acnj.org/kidlaw
Posted on June 6, 2022
Posted 6/2/2022
By Alana Vega
Health Policy Analyst
Desde marzo del 2020, los residentes de Nueva Jersey inscritos en NJ FamilyCare han podido mantener la cobertura, sin la tradicional redeterminación periódica, gracias a las disposiciones especificadas bajo la emergencia de salud pública nacional (PHE). NJ FamilyCare es el programa estatal de seguro médico, que abarca Medicaid y el Programa de Seguro Médico para Niños (CHIP). A medida que nos acercamos al verano, aumentan las discusiones sobre la mejor manera de prepararse para el fin eventual del PHE, que comenzará uno de los mayores esfuerzos de redeterminación que ha visto el estado.
El PHE se extendió hasta el 15 de julio del 2022, y posiblemente se extenderá otra vez hasta fines de Octubre. Sin embargo, es importante que las familias de Nueva Jersey comiencen a prepararse para cuando empiecen a relajar el PHE. Cuando finalice el PHE, los estados empezarán a determinar y reevaluar la elegibilidad de los clientes para la cobertura de Medicaid y CHIP. NJ FamilyCare comenzará a comunicarse con los beneficiarios por correo para iniciar este proceso de redeterminación.
¿Qué pueden hacer las familias para prepararse? La respuesta es sencilla: asegúrese de que NJ FamilyCare tenga la dirección actual. Después de dos años, es probable que muchas familias se hayan mudado y debido a que NJ FamilyCare no había vuelto a determinar la elegibilidad según el PHE, es posible que los registros no reflejan la información más reciente de los miembros. Para verificar y actualizar la información, las familias deben llamar a la línea del teléfono NJ FamilyCare Ambassador al 1-800-701-0710. Una vez que se verifique que la información es correcta, también deben de este pendientes de correspondencia que venga de NJ FamilyCare en los próximos meses. Es importante que los beneficiarios respondan con prontitud a estos correos para mantener la cobertura de salud.
Los proveedores de salud y las organizaciones comunitarias también pueden desempeñar un papel importante en este proceso. Como mensajeros de confianza que a menudo mantienen contacto regular con las familias, los proveedores pueden recordarle a los clientes cubiertos por NJ FamilyCare a que actualicen su información de contacto. Recibir estos mensajes en múltiples frentes ayudará a reducir las interrupciones en el seguro médico para aquellos que califican para este seguro médico estatal.
Actualmente, para ser elegible para los beneficios de NJ FamilyCare, los niños menores de 19 años deben vivir en hogares con ingresos de hasta el 355% de los requisitos federales de pobreza, o aproximadamente $8,210 por mes o $98,520 por año para una familia de cuatro. Las personas embarazadas y los adultos de 19 a 64 años tienen diferentes requisitos de elegibilidad. Para obtener más información, visite el sitio web de NJ FamilyCare. Una vez que comience el proceso de redeterminación, las familias que ganan más que el requisito de ingresos deben consultar el Mercado Oficial de Seguros Médicos de Nueva Jersey, GetCoveredNJ, para obtener opciones adicionales.
Evitar que los niños de Nueva Jersey experimenten interrupciones en la cobertura es fundamental para su salud y seguridad a largo plazo. El 21 de abril del 2022, Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) anunciaron una caída de un punto porcentual en la tasa nacional de niños de jardín de infantes que cumplieron con los requisitos del programa de vacunación durante el año escolar 2020-21. Aunque pequeña, parte de esta disminución puede estar relacionada con el cambio a la educación virtual y los servicios remotos debido al COVID-19. El acceso a la atención médica preventiva es un componente crucial de la salud infantil en general, y la cobertura continua a través de NJ FamilyCare para niños elegibles es un primer paso necesario para alentar a las familias a volver a participar en la atención médica preventiva.
Posted on June 2, 2022
Posted 6/2/2022
By Alana Vega
Health Policy Analyst
Since March 2020, New Jersey residents enrolled in NJ FamilyCare have been able to maintain coverage, without traditional redetermination periods, thanks to the provisions specified under the nationwide public health emergency (PHE). NJ FamilyCare is the state health insurance program, which encompasses Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). As we approach the summertime, there are increasing discussions concerning how best to prepare for the eventual end of the PHE, which will begin one of the largest redetermination efforts the state has seen.
The PHE has been extended beyond July 15, 2022, and could potentially last through early October. Regardless, it is important that families across New Jersey begin to prepare themselves for what is sometimes referred to as the “unwinding” of the PHE. When the PHE does end, states will begin to redetermine and reassess client eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries. NJ FamilyCare will begin to contact enrollees via mail to begin this redetermination process.
What can families do to prepare? The answer is relatively straightforward--make sure that NJ FamilyCare has the most current address. After two years, many families have likely moved, and because NJ FamilyCare has not had to redetermine eligibility under the PHE, records may not reflect the most current member information. To verify and/or update any information, families should contact the NJ FamilyCare Ambassador line at 1-800-701-0710. Once information is verified as correct, households should also be on the lookout for mail from NJ FamilyCare after the end of the public health emergency is announced. It is important that households respond promptly to mailings from NJ FamilyCare in order to maintain health coverage.
Health providers and community-based organizations can also play an important role in this process. As trusted messengers who often maintain regular contact with families, providers can remind clients covered by NJ FamilyCare to update their contact information. Hearing these messages on multiple fronts will help reduce disruptions in health insurance for those who qualify for this state health insurance.
Currently, in order to be eligible for NJ FamilyCare benefits, children under age 19 must live in households with incomes up to 355% of the federal poverty guidelines, or roughly $8,210 per month or $98,520 annually for a family of four. Pregnant people and adults ages 19-64 have different eligibility requirements. For more information, visit NJ FamilyCare’s website. Once the redetermination process begins, families who may be above income qualifications should check New Jersey’s Official Health Insurance Marketplace, GetCoveredNJ, for additional insurance options.
Preventing New Jersey’s children from experiencing disruptions in health care coverage is critical for their long term health and safety. On April 21, 2022, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced a one percentage point drop in the national rate of kindergartners meeting vaccination schedule requirements during the 2020-21 school year. While this drop may seem small, it is believed that some of this decline is tied to the shift to virtual schooling and remote services due to COVID-19. Access to well-child visits is a crucial component of overall child health and continued coverage through NJ FamilyCare for eligible children is a necessary first step to encourage families to re-engage with preventive health care.
Posted on May 31, 2022
Last week, a package of child care bills was introduced in the Assembly that aligned with those introduced in the Senate by Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz in early May. These bills address child care access and affordability, taking an important step forward to reimagine child care in New Jersey. The bills include:
Two child care bills from the last legislative session were re-introduced this session:
Stay tuned! ACNJ will provide updates as additional information on each of the bills becomes available. For further information, contact Cynthia Rice at crice@acnj.org.
Sign up to help reimagine child care.
It's time!
Posted on May 25, 2022
We need you to sign on to the letter to the NJ Congressional delegation by the CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON JUNE 1st.
Senators Murray (D-WA) and Kaine (D-VA) recently released a streamlined $200B child care and pre-k proposal to be included in the reconciliation bill in Congress. The proposal will provide significant resources to our existing child care system to create stability for States and child care providers, including:
Should this proposal become law, New Jersey is estimated to receive an additional $205 million each year for six years, with approximately $154 million to be used for increased child care access and quality and $51 million for child care wages and supply building.
While child care struggles began long before the COVID-19 pandemic, the last two and a half years have made those long-standing challenges for programs and even worse for parents. We are asking every member of the New Jersey Congressional delegation to rally behind the new Murray-Kaine Early Childhood Education (ECE) proposal.
And all you need to do is sign on to the letter by the CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON JUNE 1st.
This is a sign-on letter for organizations and parents. If you are signing as an organization (and not your own name), it will be listed on the letter. All types of organizations, including associations, center-based and registered family child care providers, advocacy organizations, unions, and any other organization that supports early childhood education from anywhere in New Jersey are welcome to sign on— and the more parent voices included the better!
It's time!
Dear Members of the New Jersey Congressional Delegation:
On behalf of the more than [ # ] undersigned advocacy organizations, child care providers, associations, unions, parents and more, thank you for your efforts to prioritize the needs of the children and families of New Jersey . During these difficult last few years, your support for our child care system and the children and families with whom they serve has led to critical funding providing the first steps in helping child care programs keep their doors open and supporting parents as they return to work.
But even with this help, child care, a system that has long been underfunded and undervalued, remains in crisis.
While previous federal COVID funds have supported child care subsidy rate increases through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), provided $1000 retention bonuses for child care staff, provided various child care program grants, such as the Payroll Protection and Stabilization grants and increased subsidy eligibility to more families, the struggles continue. Our state is in the midst of a child care staffing crisis, because finding and retaining employees has become so difficult due to chronically low wages—and this affects, parents, but primarily mothers’ ability to return to work. The problem is most dire for those families with infants and toddlers, as this age-group is the most expensive to care for. While this system remains in turmoil, we know that we cannot go back to how it functioned before the pandemic. It didn’t work for parents and providers then, and it will not work in the future.
In order to provide high-quality programming in enriching learning environments, providers need to make costly investments in building infrastructure, classroom materials, and the workforce. Yet, programs cannot squeeze more out of families who are already struggling to afford care and our state’s child care subsidy system does not compensate programs for the true cost of that care. Even though programs would love to increase compensation for their educators, they cannot do so under the status quo without further burdening working families with higher fees or placing their programs’ futures in jeopardy. .
While we are encouraged that the New Jersey legislature is proposing significant new investments in child care and preschool in their FY23 budget recommendations, without substantial federal support and the scale it brings, the early education sector will move closer to the breaking point.
The good news is that the solution is within your reach. The latest proposal from your colleagues Senator Patty Murray and Senator Tim Kaine would finally make a committed and sustained investment in early education that families, providers, educators, young learners, and the economy desperately need.
The proposal will provide significant resources to our existing child care system to create stability for States and child care providers, including:
According to a recent analysis from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), this proposal would deliver over $205 million for early childhood education each year to New Jersey and help over 20,000 additional children be served.
At this crucial moment when transformative investment is within reach but remains uncertain, we request that you ensure that early childhood education is included in the reconciliation package and that it includes a minimum investment of $200 billion into the early education and care system. This is a unique window of opportunity when the nation is recognizing the truly essential role that early care and education plays in child development, job security, and the national economy. We are grateful for your continued support of the early education and care community. Thank you again for your leadership and advocacy for the early learning community, parents and the children with whom come to their programs every day for education and care.
