Advisory

CONTACT:  Lana Lee, (609) 651-5855 or llee@acnj.org for more information.

Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) will release the Child Care Cost of Quality Study on Tuesday, April 25th at 9 a.m. at Thomas Edison State University, 111 W. State St., Townhouse 104, Trenton, NJ.

Using actual budgets and data collected from child care providers throughout the state, ACNJ conducted a cost-estimation study to examine the costs needed to achieve quality care as defined by Grow NJ Kids, the state's child care quality rating and improvement system. The study found that meeting and sustaining these quality standards would be next to impossible for providers caring for low-income children that depend on child care subsidies.

Anne Mitchell, President of Early Childhood Policy Research, will present a summary of the findings and explain:

• the costs involved in operating a child care program at different levels of quality as defined by Grow NJ Kids,
• the challenges child care providers face, especially those serving low-income families, when meeting the quality standards,
• next steps needed to help ensure all children are cared for in high-quality child care settings.

Following the presentation will be a panel to expand on the operational struggles of child care providers. The panelists include:

• Dr. Lorraine Cooke – Director, Egenolf Early Childhood Center, Elizabeth
• Bonnie Eggenburg –  Vice President,  Gateway Community Action Partnership, Bridgeton
• Lisa Barbarino – Director, The Children’s Center for Learning, South Amboy
• Carol A. Presley – Executive Director, Neighborhood House, Plainfield
• Cindy Jackson – Project Director, Steps to Quality Family Child Care Initiave for NJ

The study was funded by The Nicholson Foundation. For questions, please contact Lana Lee, (609) 651-5855; or llee@acnj.org.

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Advocates for Children of New Jersey is a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan child research and action organization working to ensure all children have the chance to grow up safe, healthy and educated.

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