ACNJ Enews

Big Victories for Kids in 2015
2015 was a banner year for child advocacy in New Jersey. With your help, we scored big victories for kids –- more kids eating school breakfast and having health coverage, fewer juveniles in harmful lock-up, more abused kids having a say in their future. These and other wins mean that we moved closer to ensuring that every New Jersey child has the chance to grow up safe, healthy and educated.

Read ACNJ’s 2015 Update.

Legislation Advances to Address Absenteeism
A bi-partisan bill to improve students’ school attendance won approval from the New Jersey Senate Education Committee and now heads to the Senate Budget Committee for consideration. The measure, S-3245, would require the New Jersey Department of Education to define chronic absenteeism as 10 percent or more of the days a child is enrolled in a particular school and to publish district-level data. Schools with 10 percent or more of its students deemed chronically absent would have to develop a plan to improve student attendance.

The legislation is in response to ACNJ’s September report, Showing Up Matters, the State of Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey.

Read the legislation.

Child Care Center Licensing Reports Now Online
The New Jersey Department of Children and Families recently launched a searchable online database of nearly 4,000 state-licensed child care centers, enabling parents to search for centers and access a center’s state inspection report.

This was one of the recommendations made in ACNJ’s 2013 report, Meeting New Jersey’s Child Care Challenge: A Kids Count Special Report

While this is a positive step, New Jersey could vastly improve the system to make it easier for parents to find quality care that meets their needs. The system should include a way for parents to search using different criteria, including the age of the child, the type of care -- day, evening, weekends -- and other important factors. It should also provide information on the inspection and complaint investigation process and how to use the inspection reports to make an informed decision.

View the Licensed Child Care Center Explorer.

Share Your PreK Story!

Why do you want to bring pre-k to more of New Jersey's 3- to 4-year-olds? Share your story and inspire others to show their support for expanding access to high-quality preschool to New Jersey's kids.

Visit prekourway.org/share-your-story today.

Ceil Talks About School Attendance on NJ Capitol Report
ACNJ Executive Director Cecilia Zalkind was recently featured on NJ Capitol Report with Steve Adubato, discussing ACNJ’s work on reducing chronic absenteeism in New Jersey schools.

View the video.

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December 2015	About Us \| Contact Us \| Donate
Big Victories for Kids in 2015 2015 was a banner year for child advocacy in New Jersey. With your help, we scored big victories for kids –- more kids eating school breakfast and having health coverage, fewer juveniles in harmful lock-up, more abused kids having a say in their future. These and other wins mean that we moved closer to ensuring that every New Jersey child has the chance to grow up safe, healthy and educated. Read ACNJ’s 2015 Update. Legislation Advances to Address Absenteeism A bi-partisan bill to improve students’ school attendance won approval from the New Jersey Senate Education Committee and now heads to the Senate Budget Committee for consideration. The measure, S-3245, would require the New Jersey Department of Education to define chronic absenteeism as 10 percent or more of the days a child is enrolled in a particular school and to publish district-level data. Schools with 10 percent or more of its students deemed chronically absent would have to develop a plan to improve student attendance. The legislation is in response to ACNJ’s September report, Showing Up Matters, the State of Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey. Read the legislation. Child Care Center Licensing Reports Now Online The New Jersey Department of Children and Families recently launched a searchable online database of nearly 4,000 state-licensed child care centers, enabling parents to search for centers and access a center’s state inspection report. This was one of the recommendations made in ACNJ’s 2013 report, Meeting New Jersey’s Child Care Challenge: A Kids Count Special Report While this is a positive step, New Jersey could vastly improve the system to make it easier for parents to find quality care that meets their needs. The system should include a way for parents to search using different criteria, including the age of the child, the type of care -- day, evening, weekends -- and other important factors. It should also provide information on the inspection and complaint investigation process and how to use the inspection reports to make an informed decision. View the Licensed Child Care Center Explorer. Share Your PreK Story! Why do you want to bring pre-k to more of New Jersey's 3- to 4-year-olds? Share your story and inspire others to show their support for expanding access to high-quality preschool to New Jersey's kids. Visit prekourway.org/share-your-story today. Ceil Talks About School Attendance on NJ Capitol Report ACNJ Executive Director Cecilia Zalkind was recently featured on NJ Capitol Report with Steve Adubato, discussing ACNJ’s work on reducing chronic absenteeism in New Jersey schools. View the video. Click here to unsubscribe