TRENTON, N.J. – Department of Children and Families Commissioner Christine Norbut Beyer found herself unable to provide insights into the workforce needs of child care centers, the decline in community-based centers seeking licenses, or the disparities in safety standards between private preschools and public school district pre-K programs when questioned by Assemblywoman Aura Dunn during a recent Assembly budget hearing.
During the hearing on a Monday, Dunn (R-Morris) confronted Beyer regarding the Department’s retention and recruitment plan for the child care workforce. However, Beyer mentioned that such matters were not under the purview of her department, which is responsible for overseeing staffing ratios for services at licensed child care centers.
Beyer indicated that there has been an overall decrease in the number of child care centers in the state since 2020, although there has been a rise in capacity. She admitted that more workers were needed to achieve this increase in capacity, but specifics on how this was achieved were not disclosed.
Dunn highlighted the shift of subsidies from attendance-based to enrollment-based during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped stabilize the child care sector. She expressed concerns about the return to an attendance-based program and the impact on licensed child care centers. Dunn, the sponsor of legislation (A3225) aiming to base subsidy payments to licensed child care centers on enrollment permanently, pointed out the correlation between the subsidy program and the disappearance of centers.
Notably, while district-operated preschool programs are expected to see a significant enrollment increase, licensed child care centers are projected to show only a modest uptick. Dunn emphasized the importance of ensuring safety standards for all preschool programs, raising concerns about the facilities in district-based child care centers not being up to par with licensed ones.
Beyer clarified that universal pre-K, a part of the state’s education system, falls outside her department’s scope. The Department of Children and Families funding is set to increase by $260,000 for fiscal year 2025, reaching $1.436 billion, while child care licensing revenue will see a slight decrease to $320,000.
To view the full budget hearing, a link is provided for access to the archived video.