New Jersey

In 2022, New Jersey launched Phase I of the New Jersey Strategic Plan for Preschool Expansion to provide full-day, high-quality preschool to all three- and four-year-old children in the state. The two-part plan will guide the state in transitioning to universal preschool. In 2022, New Jersey served 20% of 3-year-olds and 29% of 4-year-olds through its state preschool programs.

The forthcoming Phase II of the Strategic Plan, which will focus on implementation, will be released in fall 2023. 

New Jersey’s commitment to transitioning to universal preschool accords with the state’s history of investing in early learning. The state's first publicly funded preschool program, the Abbott Preschool Program, was created as a result of a 1998 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on school funding that mandated the creation of state-funded, high-quality preschool programs open to all 3- and 4-year-old children living in 31 of the state's highest poverty school districts.

Today, New Jersey’s pre-K programs serve children in public-school, Head Start, and community-based programs; more than half of all participating children are served in Head Start or community-based settings. Starting and ongoing pay parity is required for community-based educators who have education and experience levels comparable to those serving in the public schools.

For six years in a row, New Jersey has increased funding for preschool, including a $40 million increase for the 2022-2023 school year. 

The state has already begun supporting the infrastructure for universal pre-K. In 2023, the state was awarded a $2.3 million federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B–5) renewal grant to increase workforce capacity, and Governor Murphy announced $120 million in grants for preschool facilities. 

Sources: 

New Jersey Department of Education (2022). New Jersey Strategic Plan for Preschool Expansion Phase I: The Foundation. 

$120M Available for NJ Preschool Facility Expansions. (2023).  New Jersey Business Magazine. 

National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). New Jersey. 

National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). Fact Sheet – New Jersey Abbott Preschool Program Longitudinal Effects Study through Grade 10 (APPLES-10).

In 2022, New Jersey created the $54.5 million New Jersey Child Care Facilities Improvement Program to provide grants to New Jersey child care providers for facilities enhancements. The program is part of the Child Care Revitalization Fund, passed by the New Jersey State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy in July 2021. Phase 1 of the program provides almost $15 million in grants of up to $200,000 to licensed child care centers in New Jersey toward the costs of facility improvements.

The funds can be used to cover labor and materials costs for interior and exterior facility improvements, plus "soft" costs such as architect fees, permit fees, construction management, freight and shipping delivery, and environmental assessment.

Sources:
New Jersey Economic Development Authority. (n.d.). New Jersey child care facilities improvement program.
New Jersey Department of Human Services. (2022). New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy Launches NJ Child Care Facilities Improvement Grant.
Child Care Aware of New Jersey. (n.d.). NJEDA child care facilities grant program.
New Jersey Economic Development Authority. (n.d.). Child care facilities improvement pilot program.

Since 2018, in partnership with multiple other state agencies, the New Jersey Early Learning Commission has hosted the New Jersey Enterprise Analysis System for Early Learning (NJ-EASEL), the state's early childhood integrated data system. Functioning as both a warehouse and a series of data-sharing agreements, the system shares demographic, program, workforce, and individual level data on early childhood programs and the children and families they serve. NJ-EASEL integrates data internally across multiple departments (e.g., Department of Education, Department of Children and Families, Department of Human Services, and Department of Health). The system does not yet have a public arm, but it supports the statewide longitudinal data system, NJEEDS.

NJ-EASEL was built after Governor Chris Christie’s Executive Order No. 77 in 2011 established the Early Learning Commission. The system was launched in 2018 and has been funded by federal grants including Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant and Preschool Development Grant Birth Through 5 (PDG B-5).

Sources:
New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System . (2021). 2021 Year in Review.

LiBetti, A. & Fu, R. (2022). A State Scan of Early Learning Assessments and Data Systems. New America

Early Childhood Policy Matters. (2022). Advancing Early Childhood Integrated Data in New Jersey - Early Childhood Policy Matters

New Jersey's first publicly funded pre-K program, the Abbott Preschool Program, was created as a result of a 1998 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling on school funding. Today, New Jersey's pre-K programs serve children in public-school, Head Start, and community-based programs; more than half of all participating children are served in Head Start or community-based settings. Starting and ongoing pay parityis required for community-based educators who have education and experience levels comparable to those serving in the public schools. Paid planning and professional development time parity is also required.

Source:

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley & The National Institute for Early Education Research. (2017). Strategies in Pursuit of Pre-K Teacher Compensation Parity: Lessons from Seven States and Cities | New Jersey Pre-K.