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A2252
ASSEMBLY, No. 2252
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 YVONNE LOPEZ
District 19 (Middlesex)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Haider, Assemblyman Schnall, Assemblywomen
Park, Dunn, Assemblymen Danielsen, E. Rodriguez and Walker
SYNOPSIS
���� Increases Work First New Jersey Child Care
appropriation by $28 million in FY2026 annual appropriations act to ensure full
funding of child care subsidy program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
A
Supplement
to the annual appropriations act
for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, P.L.2025, c.74.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and the General Assembly
of the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� The following item and
language provision in section 1 of P.L.2025, c.74, the annual appropriations
act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, are amended as follows:
54 DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
50 Economic Planning, Development,
and Security
53 Economic Assistance and Security
7550 Division of Family Development
GRANTS-IN-AID
15-7550� Income Maintenance
Management
[
$616,711,000
]
$644,711,000
���������������� Total
Grants-in-Aid appropriation,���������������������������������������
������������������ Division
of Family Development
[
$616,711,000
]
$644,711,000
Grants-in-Aid:
�������� 15��� Work First
New Jersey Child Care
[
($565,805,000)
]
($593,805,000)
Notwithstanding the provisions of
section 2 of P.L.1993, c.46 (C.30:5B-31) or any other law or regulation to the
contrary,
[
of
the amounts hereinabove appropriated for Work First New Jersey Child Care and
for the avoidance of doubt,
]
the Commissioner of Human Services
[
,
in consultation with the Division of Family Development, is authorized to pause
or terminate acceptance of applications for child care assistance in the event
that projected program expenditures exceed the amount hereinabove appropriated
for Work First New Jersey Child Care, subject to the approval of the Director
of the Division of Budget and Accounting; provided, however, that in the event
that sufficient funding is determined to be available, applications received
during the time period that enrollment is reopened, as determined by the
Director of the Division of Family Development, shall be prioritized in the
following order: (1) families at or below 100% of the federal poverty level;
(2) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families children; (3) children under the
auspices of Child Protective Services; (4) children with special
needs/disabilities, and (5) all other children.
]
shall 1) discontinue any
pause in the processing of applications for child care assistance and approve
eligibility for any applicant who meets standards that are no more rigorous
than the eligibility criteria in place on June 30, 2025; and 2) implement
family copayments for child care assistance which are no more than those family
copayments in place on June 30, 2025.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill increases the Work
First New Jersey Child Care appropriation by $28 million, from $565.8 million
to $593.8 million, in the FY2026 annual appropriations act.� This line item
supports the State�s child care subsidy program, which assists lower-income
families by paying a portion of their child care expenses.
���� During the FY2026 Budget
proceedings, the Commissioner of Human Services stated that the Governor�s
Budget Recommendation underfunded the child care subsidy program by
approximately $25 to $30 million and, as a result, the Department of Human
Services would need to pause enrollment and increase family copayments under
this program at an unknown point in FY2026.� Accordingly, on August 1, 2025 the
child care subsidy program ceased accepting new applications for its largest
eligibility group, the child care assistance program, and increased family
copayments for this eligibility group from one to five percent of a family�s
income to two to six percent of a family�s income.
���� This bill appropriates an
additional $28 million for the State�s child care subsidy program, the balance
of the funding shortfall projected by the Commissioner of Human Services after
a $2.0 million increase was incorporated in the FY2026 annual appropriations
act by the Legislature, to ensure the full operation of this critical program.�
The bill also removes budget language newly added in the FY2026 annual
appropriations act that clarifies that the department may suspend the
acceptance of applications for child care subsidies in the event of
insufficient funding.� Under the bill, budget language is added that requires
the Commissioner of Human Services to resume the acceptance of applications for
child care assistance and implement family copayments, at no more rigorous
standards than those in place on June 30, 2025, thereby returning the program
to its pre-August 1 policies.