June 2013 Learn how to use Kids Count data to help children To help local, county and state leaders, community organizations and others use Kids Count data to respond to children’s needs, ACNJ is holding Kids Count forums across the state. At these free events, you will learn more about current trends of child well-being in your county and in neighboring counties. You’ll discover how you can use data to identify and address problems facing children and families in your county. There’s still time to register for tomorrow’s forum for Bergen, Hudson and Passaic counties! Click here for info on that forum. To register online for other forums near you, click here. Young children more likely to live in poverty The recently-released New Jersey Kids Count 2013: The State of Our Children found an alarming 20 percent increase in the number of young children being raised in households earning too little to meet their basic needs. In fact, the most recent data show that more than one-third of New Jersey’s young children lived in low-income families. That translates to about 225,600 young children. Read the report and the special section on the state of our youngest children. Rep. Holt Visits Trenton Preschool  U.S. Representative Rush Holt visited the Millhill Child and Family Development, as part of ACNJ’s Come and See Me Learn day. Holt talked about the urgent need to provide high-quality preschool to thousands of low-income children in New Jersey and across the nation. The New Jersey Congressman also voiced strong support for a federal proposal to expand preschool that would provide New Jersey and other states with federal funds to expand quality early childhood education – a critical foundation for school success. View the pictures and stories. | 
