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.