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NJ FamilyCare Recipients: Make Sure your Health Insurance is Not Interrupted!

Posted on June 2, 2022

Blog-headline

Posted 6/2/2022

Alana Vega, Kids Count Coordinator

By Alana Vega
Health Policy Analyst

 

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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.

Next Steps: Package of Child Care Bills Introduced in Assembly

Posted on May 31, 2022

BREAKING NEWS: The Thriving by Three Act was passed. One step closer to reimagining child care in New Jersey.

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:

  • A4178/S2475: Establishes a Department of Early Childhood (Primary Sponsor: Assemblywoman Lopez)
  • A4179/S2476: Establishes Thriving by Three competitive grant program for infant and toddler child care programs (Primary Sponsor: Speaker Coughlin)
  • A4175/S2477: Requires eligible school districts to provide the majority of preschool pupil placements at licensed child care provider programs that are collaborating with the district to implement state-funded preschool (Primary Sponsor: Assemblywoman Timberlake)
  • A4177/S2478: Extends the duration of the law requiring certain providers receiving subsidy payments for child care services to continue receiving payments based on enrollment and not attendance (Primary Sponsor: Assemblywoman Mosquera)
  • A252/S2479: Provides a temporary corporation business tax and gross income tax credits for certain employer-provided child care expenditures (Primary Sponsor: Assemblywoman Munoz)
  • A4176/S2480: Extends child care subsidies to families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level (Primary Sponsor: Assemblywoman Park)

Two child care bills from the last legislative session were re-introduced this session:

  • A1469/S1099: Allows gross income tax credit for certain child care staff and registered family day care providers
  • A1471/S2465: Requires the Department of Human Services to establish a quality-based reimbursement system for registered family day care providers participating in Grow NJ Kids, New Jersey's Quality Rating and Improvement System

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.

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Sign-On Letter to Members of Congress to include Child Care in the Reconciliation Bill

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:

  • Triple the existing Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to increase funds to all states;
  • Use CCDBG to fund Supply and Compensation grants to expand child care supply, improve facilities, and raise compensation for early childhood educators;
  • Pilot a Child Care and Development Expansion program for six years;
  • Invest in high-quality preschool grants; and
  • Invest in raising wages for Head Start teachers.

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!

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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:

  • Triple the existing Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to increase funds, which would enable New Jersey to provide child care subsidies to more working families and increase provider payment rates to support provider stability;
  • Use CCDBG to fund Supply and Compensation grants to expand child care supply, improve facilities, and raise compensation for early childhood educators, in order to address racial and gender equity in a field overwhelmingly comprised of women with 40 percent of whom are women of color;
  • Pilot a Child Care and Development Expansion program for six years;
  • Invest in high-quality preschool grants; and
  • Invest in raising wages for Head Start teachers.

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.

After the tragedy in Uvalde, TX, it’s time for action

Posted on May 25, 2022

Statement by Cecilia Zalkind, ACNJ Pres/CEO on the tragedy in Uvalde, TX

My heart is breaking this morning for the families in Texas who are facing an unspeakable loss, one that no family should ever have to experience but, unfortunately, seems to have become far too common in our country.

For more than 40 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey has been dedicated to giving every child the chance to grow up safe, healthy and educated. We have advocated for health care, quality education, and protection from abuse and neglect. We have never had to advocate for the right to simply grow up - a right which 19 children lost yesterday in Uvalde, Texas.

Enough is enough. ACNJ joins the chorus of voices advocating for an end to violence and – more importantly – the tools of that violence, not with platitudes but by controlling means of access. It is time to make it impossible for an 18-year-old to legally purchase a way to take 19 young lives in a matter of seconds.

It is time for Congress to act. ACNJ calls upon our congressional leaders to put children above party or power and enact gun control legislation now. Our state and congressional leaders must also act to address the causes and consequences of our culture of violence with better mental health services, but first things first - get guns off our streets.

Below are helpful resources to talk to children about the tragedy in Uvalde, TX.

Changing the Trajectory of a Mental Health Crisis: It’s Time New Jersey Makes Infant Mental Health a Priority

Posted on May 24, 2022

Blog-headline

Posted 5/24/2022

headshot-hannah-korn-h

By Hannah Korn-Heilner
ACNJ Outreach and Policy Associate
and

Nya Earrusso-small

Nya Earrusso
MSW Student Intern/Leontine Young Fellow

Over the past two years, the nation has seen an increase in rates of mental health concerns among children, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and racial inequities. In response, a National State of Emergency in Children’s Mental Health was declared by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA).

Sounding the alarm is an important first step to addressing mental health challenges among children and adolescents and stopping the growing crisis. As we work to better understand and address the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children, it is critical to acknowledge that infants and toddlers have mental health needs as well. Despite babies being among the most vulnerable, their needs are almost always the last to be noticed.

Why Should We Be Concerned About Babies’ Mental Health?

Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) often went unaddressed prior to the pandemic but it has become an even greater concern now, since babies born during the pandemic are likely to experience higher levels of mental health needs. As a result of the health crisis, many parents experienced increased stress from financial hardship, food insecurity, social isolation and trauma from the loss of family and friends, impacting their capacity to support their young one. In addition, the traditional support systems for babies and their families were disrupted by the pandemic, putting the mental health of infants at risk.

And all of this is taking place at a critical time of a babies' brain development.

Research tells us that stress and trauma can impact healthy growth and development. Fortunately, providing supports that nurture strong relationships with loving, consistent and trusting caregivers can help. But when parents are also experiencing increased stress, it can be challenging for them to provide the support their babies need.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health

Parents of young children report higher levels of concern about their children’s social development.¹ To capture the depth of the emotional toll that tangible hardship takes on families, the RAPID-EC survey, conducted by the University of Oregon, measured emotional distress in adults (depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness) and children (fearfulness/anxiety, fussiness/defiance) experienced throughout the pandemic. Results from the survey highlight the material hardships many families experienced such as difficulty paying bills, basic food needs, housing and utilities. It also revealed a steady association between the increase of material hardship and the increase in emotional distress in both parents and children. Over the course of the pandemic, the survey has shown one in four households with young children, sometimes as many as one in three, experienced material hardship, which also affected family well-being.²

The connection between material hardship and emotional distress is associated with a higher mental health risk for historically marginalized families. Black and Latino families experience significantly higher rates of material hardship than white families, including those at middle- and upper-income levels. Social isolation emerges as the primary challenge for white families, while the challenge to meet basic needs persist for Black families.³ Pervasive and systemic racism adds an additional toll.

IECMH Services in New Jersey

A key barrier influencing the mental health crisis is access to services, particularly for families with low incomes. Often, families in general are unaware that they can even access mental health services for their young child. And if they do, finding a mental health provider can be time consuming and difficult, especially for parents who are stressed and have many other responsibilities. Additionally,there are not many mental health providers that provide services to very young children, leaving parents with little to no options.

Another complication to receiving mental and behavioral health treatment or services for those receiving benefits under NJ FamilyCare, New Jersey's publicly funded health insurance program which includes Medicaid, is that there must first be a diagnosis. This can prevent families from accessing services until the need is significant. Requiring a diagnosis to receive services can be stigmatizing and deter many from even seeking treatment. At a time when many families and children are experiencing mental health needs, New Jersey should be making it easier - not harder - for families to access services as early on as possible.

Promising Solutions

IECMH advocates in New Jersey have proposed a solution to create a preventative behavioral health benefit under NJ FamilyCare for children. This benefit would allow individual or family therapy for children without requiring a formal behavioral health diagnosis, reducing the stigma of receiving mental health services. As data has shown, there are many risk factors that can impact mental health, from food and housing insecurity, to other family stressors. By identifying these factors and providing treatment or supportive services as soon as possible, more significant mental and behavioral health concerns can be prevented.

Another option is implementing the HealthySteps program statewide. HealthSteps is an evidence-based model being piloted in New Jersey that uses an integrated pediatric primary care approach to meeting families where they are. This initiative takes advantage of the pediatric office as the universal touchpoint for families (99.3% of New Jersey mothers reported that they took their new infant to their well-baby checkup in 2015). A HealthySteps Specialist, usually a licensed behavioral health provider, is placed in a pediatric office to address family needs and connect families to services and resources. This removes the burden from parents to navigate an often complicated mental and behavioral health system. However, the HealthySteps program is currently only available in three communities in New Jersey. The state should expand the HealthySteps program so that more families are able to benefit.

Time to Make Infant Mental Health a State Priority 

Families and caregivers need easily accessible support to promote the health and well-being of their children. The pandemic increased the amount of stress and anxiety beyond what already accompanies parenthood. The negative impact parents’ stress has on a child’s healthy development must be addressed in addition to the challenges of accessing services. IECMH needs went unmet for young children even prior to the pandemic. And as we emerge, the impact these past two years have had on mental health will not just disappear. New Jersey must strive to make access to infant mental and behavioral health services a priority.

Read the latest on infant social emotional development.