NEW JERSEY – A 3-year-old has the same developmental needs whether the child is in a public preschool or a licensed child care center, Assemblywoman Dunn says in support of her bill that addresses the limitations of the state’s universal preschool program.
Assembly committees recently held a joint hearing on the state’s child care industry. Several witnesses testified that the expansion of universal pre-K is contributing to New Jersey’s child care deserts – defined as one slot for every three families.
“It became very apparent during the hours-long hearing that community child care providers are not receiving the same kind of state support or opportunities as preschools in public school districts. New Jersey needs to invest in these providers, because the school districts receiving state expansion aid do not have the capacity to meet the needs of every family. A mix of providers delivering a high-quality preschool education is critical to improving accessibility for children and sustaining small businesses,” Dunn (R-Morris) said.
Out of the state’s 572 eligible school districts and charter schools, 283 currently participate in the universal preschool program, according to the Department of Education. Preschool expansion funding is awarded to public school districts that can then contract with licensed community preschool providers to increase the available seats beyond what existing school infrastructure can support. Even with the mixed providers, not all eligible children in a district have a seat.
“New Jersey has a patchwork of child care providers that are all funded and regulated differently. When a licensed child care center partners with a school district receiving preschool aid, it must meet new burdensome requirements. Many providers face space constraints and workforce shortages that limit their ability to partner with districts,” Dunn explained.
Only 515 licensed child care providers out of the nearly 3,000 in the state are currently contracting with 90 school districts to provide state-funded preschool through a mixed delivery model. More than 83,000 preschool children are enrolled in state-funded preschool and nearly 60% are in public or charter schools. Approximately 34% of the preschoolers are in childcare provider classrooms.
“It takes approximately $225,000 to open and maintain a universal pre-K classroom,” said Jim Freda, owner of Goddard schools in Sparta and Montclair. “If New Jersey offered every 3 to 4 year old a stipend of $1,000 that could be used to enroll in a preschool of the parents’ choosing, the state could serve more families and save taxpayer dollars. As an example, if your district has 20 universal preschool classrooms, the state would save $1.5 million in that district alone.”
Dunn’s bill (A4526) requires public school districts located in communities classified as child care deserts to provide preschool vouchers to parents of eligible children who are not able to enroll in the free preschool program offered by the district in which they reside. The voucher could be used to pay for tuition and fees at a private preschool or licensed child care center, or for the cost of homeschool materials. It can also be deposited into an NJBEST 529 education savings account.
“Despite preschool expansion aid, only about 42% of the state’s nearly 200,000 preschool-aged children are enrolled in a state-funded program. It is wonderful that these children are receiving a free, full-day preschool education, but what about the thousands of other New Jersey children?” Dunn asked. “This voucher program would ensure children who would otherwise be served by a free preschool program would still be able to access the early childhood education they need in another community or setting, without incurring additional cost.”
A Rutgers report says 46% of New Jersey families live in a child care desert, which disproportionately impacts working families and rural communities.
“My bill represents an important and significant leap forward in how the state addresses the concerns of the child care industry, affordability for families, and early childhood education accessibility. It represents opportunity for every community and working family, and future achievement for all our deserving children,” Dunn said. “Every child deserves a fair start and this is the right start for the hardworking families of New Jersey.”
Dunn is also a champion of permanently shifting child care provider subsidies from attendance-based to enrollment-based to help stabilize the child care sector and has sponsored legislation (A3225) to that effect since 2022.
