Requires Division of Family Development to establish and maintain registration system for persons applying for State's child care assistance program.*

A2247 2R

[Second Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2247

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER

District 37 (Bergen)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger, Assemblywomen Dunn, Brennan,
Assemblymen Kearney, Bhalla and Assemblywoman Morales

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Division of Family Development to establish
and maintain registration system for persons applying for State's child care
assistance program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As reported by the Assembly Children, Families and
Food Security Committee on May 7, 2026, with amendments.

��

An Act

concerning the State�s child care assistance
program and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

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

����
2
1.�
The Legislature finds and declares that:

����
a.� Every year, based on
available funding, the Division of Family Development in the Department of
Human Services determines how many families will be served by the State�s child
care assistance program.

����
b.� However, the true
demand for child care assistance exceeds what is provided on a yearly basis, a
fact which became apparent when in August 2025, �the State�s child care
assistance program received an increased number of applications prior to the
program implementing a freeze on such applications.

����
c.� A September 2025 brief by
the Rutgers Child Care Research Collaborative found that 76 percent of New
Jersey children under the age of five are in non-parental care, with half of
those families spending more than seven percent of their annual income on child
care.

����
d.� For many of the most
vulnerable families in the State, the child care assistance program is the only
path to affordable, quality child care, highlighting the importance of the program
in helping low-income families remain active participants in the State�s workforce.

����
e.� The implementation of
the freeze on applications to the State child care assistance program also had
a negative impact on child care providers who rely on the subsidies provided by
the State to continue operating their businesses.

����
f.� Under the State�s child
care assistance program, families pay their share of the cost of child care
services directly to the child care provider, while the State pays the provider
for the balance of the cost of care.� The loss of subsidy payments from eligible
families has led to decreased enrollment in child care programs and financial
instability for child care providers, reinforcing the need for better data collection
to inform State policy and funding decisions concerning the provision of child
care services.

����
g.� Therefore, it is in the
best interest of the State to establish a system to register and track all
applications for the State�s child care assistance program to improve
transparency and data collection relating to the State�s child care assistance
program and to quantify and respond to the unmet child care needs of, and the
program�s role in supporting, the State�s working families.
2

����
2
[
1.
]

2.
2
a.�
2
[
Notwithstanding
any law rule, or regulation to the contrary, the
]

The
2

Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services
2
shall
establish and maintain, on an ongoing basis, a system for registering and
tracking all applicants and prospective applicants to the State�s child care
assistance program.

The registration system
2
shall:

���� (1) maintain a waiting list of
those
1
[
income
eligible persons
]

2
[
presumptively
eligible applicants
1
]

persons
2
who
2
wish
to
2

apply to receive assistance through the State�s child care assistance program
2
[
and are
notified that their applications will not be processed due to limited funding
]
2
;

���� (2) implement procedures by
which such persons
2
[
may be placed
]
2

on the waiting list
2
[
;
]
2

1
[
and
]
1

2
shall
be invited to apply for assistance through the State�s child care assistance
program as determined by the division
2
;

���� (3) establish methods for
notifying
1
[
qualified
]

2
[
presumptively
eligible
1

applicants when the division will process
]

persons on the waiting list when they can submit
2
their applications
for the State�s child care assistance program
2
[
once funding becomes available
]

and when
the division shall process their applications
2
,
including, but not limited to, posting such information on its Internet website
1
; and

����
(4)
designate
child care resource and referral agencies contracted with the division to

2
[
serve as
access points to assist presumptively eligible applicants
]

provide persons
who have been invited to apply for assistance with help in
2

completing
and submitting applications for the State�s child care assistance program
2
[
and the
self-attestation forms developed pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subsection
b. of this act
]
2
.
1

�����
b.�
2
[
1
(1)
For the purposes of placement of an presumptively eligible applicant on the
waiting list maintained by the division pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection
a. of this section, the division shall permit the applicant to establish
eligibility via a standardized self-attestation form.�

����
(a) The self-attestation
form shall be developed by the division and made publicly available, either
online through the Department of Human Services� Internet website or in paper
form to be distributed by child care resource and referral agencies, in languages
including, but not limited to, English and Spanish.�

����
(b) The applicant may
submit the application for the State�s child care assistance program and the
self-attestation form
electronically on the division�s
Internet website, in person, through a child care resource and referral agency,
or by mail.

����
(2) The self-attestation
form shall
include information necessary to establish
presumptive eligibility including, but not limited to, the applicant�s income,
household composition, residency, participation in work, education, or job
training activities, the birth month and year of each child requiring care, and
the applicant�s contact information, including email address, telephone number,
or other available methods the division can use to contact the applicant
.

����
(3)
Completion
and submission of the self-attestation form shall be sufficient to establish
presumptive eligibility for placement on the waiting list.� The division shall
not require the submission of pay stubs, tax returns, employer verification, or
any other form of income verification as a condition of placement on the
waiting list.

����
(4)
The
final determination and certification that an applicant is eligible for
placement on the waiting list shall be made at the time the division processes
the application for enrollment in the State�s child care assistance program.

����
(5) The division shall
notify an applicant of their placement on the waiting list
and any change in application status within 10 business days of the receipt of
a completed self-attestation form, using the contact information provided by
the applicant pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.� Failure to provide
notification to the applicant within that timeframe shall not delay or prevent
the applicant�s placement on the waiting list
.

����
c.
1
]
2
�The
division shall
1
[
annually
]
1

publish
1
,
at least semi-annually,
1

a report, to be made available on the Department of Human
2
[
Service's
]

Services�
2
website
and submitted to the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), containing non-identifying aggregate data about

1
[
income-eligible
persons
]

2
[
presumptively
eligible applicants
qualified for,
]

persons on the waiting list, persons who were invited to apply,
2
and
2
[
applying
]

persons
who did in fact apply
2

to receive assistance through
2
[
,
]
2

the State�s child care assistance program
2
pursuant to subsection
a. of this section
2
.�
The report shall, at a minimum, include the number of:

���� (1) applications received for
the State�s child care assistance program;

���� (2)
2
[
1
[
eligible applicants approved to receive services through
the program
]

presumptively eligible applicants, as determined by
submission of a completed self-attestation form
1
]

applications
received from persons who were invited to apply to receive services through the
State�s child care assistance program
2
;

���� (3)
1
[
qualified persons that apply for services through the
program and are notified that their applications will not be processed due to
limited funding; and

���� (4) applicants placed on the
waiting list developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section
applicants
]

2
persons
who were invited to apply to receive services through the program and who
applied to receive such services, were
2
determined eligible,
and approved for enrollment in the program
;

����
(4)

2
[
applicants placed
]

persons
who wish to apply to receive assistance through the program
2

on
the waiting list
2
[
due to
insufficient program funding
]
2
;
and

����
(5)

2
[
applicants
]

persons who
were invited to apply to receive services through the program
2

determined
ineligible for the program, including aggregate reason categories for
ineligibility, such as income exceeding eligibility limits, incomplete
applications, or failure to meet activity requirements or other program
criteria.

����
2
[
d.
]

c.
2
�
The
report published pursuant to subsection

2
[
c.
]

b.
2

of
this section shall also include, to the extent practicable, information on:

����
(1) average processing time
for applications;

����
(2) average length of time

2
[
applicants
]

persons
wish to apply to receive services through the State�s child care assistance
program
2

remain on the waiting list;

����
(3) geographic distribution
of

2
persons
who wish to apply to receive services through the program
2

and

2
[
applicants
]

persons who
were invited to apply to receive services through the program,
2

by
county; and

����
(4) total number of
children by age represented by

2
[
applicants
]

persons
who were invited to apply to receive services through the program
2
.

����
2
[
e.� As used
in this section, �presumptively eligible applicant� meansa person who has
submitted a completed self-attestation form proving that the person meets the
State�s child care assistance program eligibility criteria, including income
requirements, residency requirements, household composition, or participation
in work, education, or job training activities, and is awaiting a determination
and certification of eligibility for placement on the waiting list to receive
assistance through the State�s child care assistance program
1
.
]
2

����
2
[
2.
]

3.
2
� This
act shall take effect immediately.