What’s New?

Newark Mayor Reflects on Kids Count Data, Announces Plan to Decrease Violence

Posted on April 22, 2019

In a recent Star-Ledger op-ed, Mayor Ras J. Baraka reflected upon the information presented at the Newark Kids Count release this past March, including the high percentage of young men falling victim to violence. From 2012 to 2016, homicide was the leading cause of injury-related deaths among Newark males between the ages of 15 and 24, with a total of 122 fatalities, accounting for 75 percent of injury-related fatalities to young men. In contrast, for young men in the same age group across the state, that figure was 27 percent.

In April, Mayor Baraka announced a new initiative aimed at decreasing violence and conflict among the city’s youth. The Brick City Peace Collective (BCPC) aims to create a network of organizations focusing on eliminating conflicts before they become violent. In addition, he highlights other strategic and comprehensive community engagement programs aimed at helping the city’s youth.

Read the op-ed here.

Read the 2019 Newark Kids Count report here.

 

VIDEO: The impact of ACES on young children

Posted on April 18, 2019

Children who experience traumatic events at an early age, known as adverse childhood experiences or ACEs, are exposed to stressors that can have more long-term consequences. As a result, they are more to vulnerable behavioral problems, which could lead to learning difficulties in school.

Watch recent segments from our Right From The Start NJ partner about ACES below.

 

Quality Child Care: A Prescription for Life-Long Success

Posted on April 16, 2019

ACNJ’s President, Cecilia Zalkind, appeared as a guest writer in the spring edition of the New Jersey Pediatrics Journal. The article highlights how pediatricians, parents’ most trusted source for medical and developmental advice on babies, are well positioned to inform families about why quality matters in a child care setting and what to look for in their search.

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Louise Stoney Child Care Financing Recommendations

Posted on April 8, 2019

ACNJ invited renowned national child care financing expert, Louise Stoney, to New Jersey to meet with legislators, policymakers, stakeholders, and funders to discuss elements needed to better finance high-quality infant-toddler child care in the state. Stoney’s recommendations challenged the traditional business model for providing child care and urged the state to establish new policies and funding streams aimed at supporting sustainable, high-quality services.

Read the report.

Listen to Louise Stoney talk about why child care is a public responsibility.

New report shows NJ’s poorest schools missing out on school breakfast

Posted on April 3, 2019

According to Hunger Free New Jersey, New Jersey’s most impoverished schools are reaching less than half of their low-income students with federally-funded school breakfast, mainly because many continue to serve breakfast before school when most children have not yet arrived, according to a report released today.

That why Advocates for Children of New Jersey and Hunger Free New Jersey teamed up for The Food for Thought Campaign and worked towards the passage of the Breakfast After the Bell law, effective starting September 2019. The law mandates schools in high-poverty districts across the state to serve breakfast after school begins, promising to provide this all-important meal to our neediest children.

Read and share the report by clicking here.

Read the press release from Hunger Free New Jerseyhere.