[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 3257

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED DECEMBER 10, 2020

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  TROY SINGLETON

District 7 (Burlington)

Senator  SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Establishes Task Force for the Development of Universal Child Care.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on June 10, 2021, with amendments.

  


An Act establishing a Task Force for the Development of Universal Child Care.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    The Legislature finds and declares that:

     a.     In the United States, approximately 60 percent of households with children do not have a stay-at-home parent, and center-based child care for an infant in three out of five states costs more than tuition and fees at four-year public universities.

     b.    Researchers have established that early childhood, beginning in infancy, is a period in which profound advances take place in a child’s reasoning, language acquisition, and problem solving, and more importantly, that a child’s environment can dramatically influence the degree and pace of these advances.

     c.     By supporting early childhood development, high quality child care programs can advance early foundational skills, improve high school graduation rates and employment income, and reduce health risks for the children who attend such programs.

     d.    More than half of all Americans live in child care “deserts,” which are communities without an adequate number of licensed child care options and where the costs of available child care options are high.  For example, the average family with one child spends as much as 36 percent of its total annual income on child care.  This percentage increases for single parent households and families with multiple children enrolled in child care.

     e.     A study published in the journal Socius found that in states where child care is more affordable and school days are longer, more mothers work than in states where child care costs are high and school days are short.

     f.     Research has also shown that in industrialized countries, subsidized child care has the single biggest effect on women’s employment.  Lowering the cost of high-quality child care can significantly increase mothers’ employment rates and incomes.

     g.    The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exacerbated the deficiencies of the child care market.  Many child care providers face economic hardship due to reduced student enrollment and higher operating costs associated with enhanced cleaning protocols and mandated personal protective equipment for facility staff.

     h.    According to an analysis from the Center for American Progress, the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a permanent loss of nearly 4.5 million child care slots nationwide, leaving millions of families without the child care they need to return to work.

     i.     The educational and economic benefits of high quality, affordable, and accessible child care can have lasting positive impacts on children and their families, and can provide a seven to 10 percent return on a state’s investment.

     j.     It is therefore in the best interests of the State to develop a framework upon which a system of universal child care can be established in order to address the major structural deficiencies in the State’s child care infrastructure that has been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, improve the educational outcomes of those children who would receive services from such a system, and enhance the employment outcomes of their families.

 

     2.    a.  There is established the Task Force for the Development of Universal Child Care in the Department of Children and Families.

     b.    The task force shall consist of 19 members as follows:

     (1)   the Commissioners of Children and Families, Community Affairs, Education, Health, Human Services, 1and1 Labor and Workforce Development, and the Director of the Division on Women in the Department of Children and Families, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio;

     (2)   eight public members appointed by the Governor 1,1 who shall include 1:1  a representative of the Advocates for Children of New Jersey 1[,] ;1 a representative of the Child Care Advisory Council 1[,] ;1 a representative of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association 1[,] ;1 a representative of the New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children 1[, one member] ; an individual1 with experience, training, or other interests in child care issues 1[,] ;1 an operator of a licensed child care center 1[,] ;1 a family day care provider 1[,] ;1 and an approved home provider; 1[and]1

     (3)   two public members appointed by the Senate President, one whom shall be a parent of a child receiving child care services at a licensed child care center, and one whom shall be a director of a licensed child care center 1[,] ;1 and

     1(4)1  two public members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, one of whom shall be a parent of a child receiving child care services from an in-home provider, and one whom shall be teacher at a licensed child care center.

     c.     Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner provided for the original appointments.  The 1[public]1 members of the task force shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed for travel and other miscellaneous expenses necessary to perform their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the task force for its purposes.

     d.    The task force shall organize as soon as practicable 1,1 but no later than 60 days following the appointment of its members 1,1 and shall select a chairperson and vice-chairperson from among the members.  The chairperson shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force.

     e.     The task force may meet at the call of 1[its chair] the chairperson1 and hold hearings at the times and in the places 1[it] the task force1 deems appropriate and necessary to fulfill its charge.  The task force shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for its purposes.

     f.     The Department of Children and Families shall provide staff services to the task force, as may be necessary for the task force to carry out its duties.

     1[g. As used in this act, “universal child care” means a cohesive system of state-run, licensed child care centers, family day care homes, and approved home providers delivering child care services to children from birth to entry into kindergarten, regardless of family income, for up to six days a week, including summers and holidays.]1

 

     3.  1a.1  The task force shall develop a framework upon which a universal child care system can be established in the State.  The task force shall:

     (1) conduct a comprehensive study identifying policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities relating to child care services in the State and the gaps in those policies, procedures, practices, and financial priorities;

     (2) study and evaluate aspects of the provision of child care that may contribute to the lack of access to, and the high cost of, quality child care services;

     (3) review existing research, studies, and data concerning universal child care and how the establishment of a universal child care system can increase the accessibility and availability of affordable, high quality child care in the State;

     (4) evaluate a variety of potential financial incentives to encourage private investment in a Statewide universal child care system;

     (5) analyze the relationship between the lack of investment in child care infrastructure 1,1 including, but not limited to, facility upgrades, and the lack of access to affordable, high quality child care; 1and1

     (6) develop a process to evaluate the services, initiatives, and programs provided through, and funded by, a universal child care system 1,1 based on the following core principles:

     1[(i)] (a)1  the recruitment, hiring, and training of qualified child care providers who are compensated appropriately;

     1[(ii)] (b)1  the expansion of supports to help all families access affordable, high-quality child care through significant public investment to ensure the financial viability of licensed child care centers, family day care homes, 1and1 approved home providers; and

     1[(iii)] (c)1 the remediation of structural inequalities within the State’s child care infrastructure that hinder access to affordable, high quality child care.

     1b.  The task force shall issue a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature, no later than six months after the task force organizes.  The report shall contain the task force’s findings and recommendations.  The task force shall expire 30 days after the issuance of its report pursuant to this subsection.

     c.     As used in this act, “universal child care” means a cohesive system of state-run, licensed child care centers, family day care homes, and approved home providers delivering child care services to children from birth to entry into kindergarten, regardless of family income, for up to six days a week, including summers and holidays.1

 

     1[4.  a.  The task force shall issue a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than six months after the task force organizes.  The report shall contain the task force’s findings and recommendations.

     b.  The task force shall expire 30 days after the issuance of its report.]1

 

     1[5.] 4.1  This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 1[upon] 30 days after1 the issuance of the task force report 1pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of this act1 .