What’s New?

Share with Legislators ACNJ president’s Op-ed supporting legislative bills to invest in child care.

Posted on April 21, 2022

It's time to address the long-time child care crisis in New Jersey.  The pandemic didn’t create it – it exposed it.

Let's urge legislators to support Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz's comprehensive package of bills that would help parents, strengthen programs and support staff. One bill, S-2476 (pending introduction), incentivizes the development of child care for infants and toddlers, the most difficult for families to find.

Share the op-ed authored by ACNJ President Cecilia Zalkind describing this historic proposal.

The package comes with a $360 million price tag. But we need to tell state leaders that this is an investment we cannot afford not to make.

Read the Op-Ed

New Jersey's commitment to children has led to extraordinary advances, putting the state ahead of the rest of the country and most importantly, improving the lives and well-being of newborns and preschool-age children.

But we are still missing the babies.

Let's make some noise for child care  and take a moment to send a message to your state leaders that this is a critical investment for children, families and for our economy.

During this legislative session, ACNJ is calling on the state to:

  • Improve access to infant/toddler care by increasing the number of available child care programs;
  • Expand child care assistance for parents of very young children; and
  • Support the child care workforce, who have historically been underfunded and underappreciated
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Stand up for #HomeVisiting this week!

Posted on March 21, 2022

HomeVisitation_Running_on_Empty

Join us from March 21st - 25th in highlighting the critical importance of evidence-based, voluntary home visiting programs. ACNJ and our home visiting partners will participate in virtual visits with members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation to discuss and advocate for these critical services that support new parents and families with young children. The National Home Visiting Virtual Summit, from March 22nd - 24th, will bring together supporters and decision-makers across the county to collaborate on advancing the home visiting field.

You can help strengthen the advocacy efforts happening this week by amplifying #HomeVisitingisEssential on social media. Visit our social media platforms daily and share our posts. Follow us on social media:

Gov. Murphy proposed great investments for kids in FY2023 budget, but what about child care?

Posted on March 11, 2022

On Tuesday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy delivered his sixth state budget address—the first in two years before a full audience at the Statehouse, and outlined his major initiatives for the 2023 budget in order to move New Jersey towards becoming a “stronger, fairer and more affordable” state. Read budget in brief.

While the centerpiece of the Governor’s $48.93 billion proposed budget includes $900 million in property tax relief, his speech also included funding increases to programs that will support children and their families. Highlights of these increases include:

  • $68 million for preschool expansion, with $40 million to assist eligible new school districts expand preschool to an additional 3,000 3- and 4-year olds
  • $650 million for K-12 funding, bringing the total state education spending to $9.9 billion
  • $17.4 million for implementing the universal newborn home visitation program
  • $500 thousand for a Nurture NJ public awareness campaign, which will promote the new universal newborn home visitation program
  • $15 million for increasing state Medicaid spending  for maternity care and higher reimbursement rates for midwives and doulas
  • $11 million for Cover All Kids health care program that will support all children having access to health insurance, regardless of immigration status
  • $2.1 million to increase case management capacity in Central Intake hubs

Unfortunately, the speech made no mention of how the proposed budget would address the child care crisis, which impacts working families, particularly mothers, who need to return to the workforce and the child care programs themselves, as they continue to struggle to remain open.

As more details emerge, we will provide updates to ensure that children have a voice in this budget process.