Many New Jersey families are facing a conundrum. People are continuing to return to work after coronavirus closings, and now many children are about to start a new school year with online learning because of COVID-19 concerns. But many residents can’t skip work to stay home with their kids. And some can’t afford to put them in child care. A number of daycare centers haven’t reopened yet, either.
In response, the state has planned for a $250 million fund to help child care centers operate and low-income families pay for their services, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday.
The money would come from the state’s pool of $2.39 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds.
The program is included in the revised, nine-month state budget Murphy unveiled this week. The state Legislature would still have to approve the funds.
“This broad initiative is designed to address the issue of child care from multiple directions,” Murphy said while announcing the program during a news conference at the Edgar Early Learning Center in Metuchen. “Child care providers need assistance to remain open and our families need assistance.”
The governor also said the goal is to make sure parents “have peace of mind that their children are safe during the day.”
The program would be run by the state Department of Human Services, and the money would be allocated in four different ways:
- $50 million will go toward grants for child care providers in New Jersey that have reopened by Oct. 1. Murphy said that will keep more centers open and give parents more options.
- $30 million will go toward subsidy grants for eligible child care providers for increased costs because of the pandemic.
- $20 million will go toward subsidies for eligible working families making less than 200% of the federal poverty level who need additional child care for their kids aged 5 to 13 years because of remote school learning.
- $150 million will go toward tuition assistance for families not eligible for that subsidy but earn up to $79,000 a year and need their children to be watched during the school day.
Murphy said nearly half of New Jersey’s licensed child care centers have remained closed since COVID-19 started spreading rapidly through the state in March. He also noted that daycare providers employ nearly 5% of the state’s female workforce.
State Sen. Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, praised Murphy for the new plan.
”These are the immediate investments we need to make in our working families if we are going to build the bridges necessary to return to a new normal, and it doesn’t stop here,” Ruiz said.
The lawmaker noted she introduced a bill Thursday that would create an emergency child care program for school staff and administrators in New Jersey as the academic year begins.
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Murphy is pushing for as many New Jersey schools as possible to reopen for at least some in-person classes in the fall, though he has allowed some that don’t meet health and safety standards to begin the year all-remote.
According to the most recent numbers, 180 school districts have applied to begin the school year remote, while 59 districts plan to fully reopen and 436 will use a hybrid model of both in-person and remote learning.
Murphy is seeking to raise taxes by $1 billion, borrow $4 billion, and cut $1.25 billion to help cover a $5.6 billion hole in the new state budget because of coronavirus tax revenue losses.
Republicans have criticized the Democratic governor for increasing spending during a pandemic, and top Democrats who lead the Legislature have expressed concern about tax increases.
But state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, pledged support Friday for the child care plan.
“Today is an important day,” Coughlin said. “The funding announced is much-needed as we move toward further re-opening of our state. ... This is the right thing to do.”
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Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com.
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