Establishes New Jersey Partnerships for Results and Opportunity through Multisector Integration, Services, and Education Program in EDA to award grants to eligible entities to provide certain social services; appropriates $30 million.

A5097

ASSEMBLY, No. 5097

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� CHIGOZIE U. ONYEMA

District 28 (Essex and Union)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes New Jersey Partnerships for Results and
Opportunity through Multisector Integration, Services, and Education Program in
EDA to award grants to eligible entities to provide certain social services;
appropriates $30 million.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

establishing the New Jersey Partnerships for
Results and Opportunity through Multisector Integration, Services, and
Education Program, supplementing P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-1 et seq.), and making
an appropriation.

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

���� 1.��� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �New Jersey Partnerships for Results and Opportunity
through Multisector Integration, Services, and Education Act.�

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

���� a.���� Families across New
Jersey, regardless of income, home language, immigration background, disability
status, or neighborhood, deserve access to high-quality schools, health care,
and social supports services. �These support services should strengthen the entire
family�s stability and well-being, prepare young people for college and
careers, and enable families to contribute to the economic and civic life of
our State and nation.

���� b.��� In many of the State�s
most distressed communities, families face housing instability, educational
challenges, neighborhood safety concerns, and barriers to health care access. �These
are often treated as separate problems needing separate solutions. �Families,
however, often experience these challenges at the same time and the challenges
interact and compound in real time within the context of specific places,
especially neighborhoods.

���� c.���� Since these challenges
are connected, communities need innovative, comprehensive, family-centered
strategies that address education, health, housing, and safety together, rather
than in isolation. �This kind of coordinated approach can reduce crisis-driven
responses and help families build stability over time.

���� d.��� Sustained, long-term
investment is also required to strengthen family stability and build a reliable
system of family and community support shared by schools, health providers,
social service agencies, and neighborhood partners. �When these stakeholders
align their work, families can access support earlier, with fewer barriers, and
communities can interrupt cycles of poverty and disinvestment.

���� e.���� Through the
collaborative efforts described in P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill), communities are encouraged to coordinate
services and resources more efficiently and effectively at the neighborhood
level, so families and children in the State�s poorest neighborhoods can access
what they need, when they need it, in ways that reflect lived reality.

���� 3.��� a.� The purpose of
P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) is
to provide grants to significantly improve the outcomes and opportunities for
children and their families living in New Jersey�s most distressed
neighborhoods. By using results-driven accountability and leveraging federal, State,
local, and private resources, the State seeks to provide children and their
families in those neighborhoods with access to a community-based continuum of
high-quality services and practices based on the best available evidence that shall
address the needs of children from birth through college and career.

���� b.��� The vision of this
competitive grant program is that all families in the targeted geographic area have
access to quality early childhood programs, schools, health services, social
services, and strong systems of family and community support services that will
prepare them to attain thriving, economically secure lives. �The State shall achieve
this by:

���� (1)�� identifying and
increasing the capacity of eligible entities that are focused on achieving
results for families, children, and youth throughout a targeted geographic area;

���� (2)�� funding eligible entities
who shall build a complete continuum of solutions of academic, health, and
social programs and family and community support services. �The State shall
further ensure that the continuum of solutions is made accessible to all families;

���� (3)�� integrating programs and
breaking down agency silos so that solutions are implemented effectively and
efficiently across agencies;

���� (4)�� developing the local
infrastructure of systems and resources needed to sustain and scale up proven,
effective solutions across the broader region beyond the initial neighborhood;
and

���� (5)�� learning about the
overall impact of the State grant program and about the relationship between
strategies in targeted geographic areas and student outcomes, including through
a rigorous longitudinal evaluation of each geographic area�s cluster of
supports as well as annual evaluation of different components of the continuum.

���� 4.��� As used in P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

���� �Authority� means the New
Jersey Economic Development Authority established pursuant to section 4 of
P.L.1974, c.80 (C.34:1B-4).

���� �Continuum of solutions� or
�solutions� means the academic, health, and social programs and family and
community support services provided by the eligible entity as part of the grant
program.

���� �Eligible entity� means a
nonprofit organization, including faith- based organizations, an institution of
higher education, or a State-recognized tribal community or tribal
organization, which shall serve as the lead agency organization in the
identified geographic area service area of the grant program and which shall
act in partnership with at least one public or charter elementary or secondary
school located within the same identified geographic area.� In addition to the
elementary or secondary school, the partnership may include multiple schools in
the geographic area, a school district or school superintendent, the office of
a chief elected official or a unit of local government, or a public or nonprofit
social services agency.

���� �Grant program� means the New
Jersey Partnerships for Results and Opportunity through Multisector
Integration, Services, and Education Program established pursuant to section 5
of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� �Nonprofit organization� means
a nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal taxation pursuant to
section 501 (c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. s.501
(c)(3), and which qualifies for a grant pursuant to section 27 P.L.1999, c.152
(C.13:8C-27).

���� �Service area� means the area
in which the eligible entity provides services under a continuum of solutions.

���� �Targeted geographic area�
means a portion of a geographic area with demographics or experiences which
include, but are not limited to, the following statistics:

���� (1)�� more than 20 percent of
children living in poverty or with high concentrations of low-income families;

���� (2)�� schools that receive
funding under Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.) and other indicators of high need such as poor
health for children, high rates of students feeling unsafe in school, or
feeling unsafe while traveling between home and school;

���� (3)�� high rates of juvenile
delinquency, adjudication, or incarceration; or

���� (4)�� high rates of foster
care placement.

���� 5.��� a.� The New Jersey
Economic Development Authority shall establish and administer the New Jersey
Partnerships for Results and Opportunity through Multisector Integration,
Services, and Education Program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to
eligible entities to implement a comprehensive, integrated continuum of
solutions based on the best available evidence, in a targeted geographic area.

���� b.���� The authority shall
review and approve applications submitted pursuant to section 6 of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) on a rolling
basis, subject to the availability of funds for the grant program. �An eligible
entity shall be chosen pursuant to the eligible entity�s proposed continuum of
solutions to improve academic achievement, including in early childhood
education, child and youth social and health development, college and career
readiness, and plan to build strong family and community support services by
showing demonstrable improvement in outcomes.

���� c.���� The authority shall
establish three grant tracks for the program, which shall be as follows:

���� (1)�� a one-year partnership
development grant, focusing on building partnerships and increasing capacity
within communities to develop a continuum of solutions to address
neighborhood-specific challenges, in an amount not to exceed $100,000;

���� (2)�� a two-year planning
grant, designed to help communities create comprehensive, actionable continuum
of solutions to tackle neighborhood-specific challenges, in an amount not to
exceed $500,000; and

���� (3)�� a five-year
implementation grant, focused on implementing the approved continuum of
solutions plans by delivering services and strategies directly to residents, in
an amount not to exceed $5,000,000.�

���� d.��� An eligible entity shall
be required to pursue sources of matching funding to be eligible for a grant
made pursuant to this section.

���� 6.���� To participate in the
grant program, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the authority,
in a form and manner to be determined by the authority.� The application shall
include, but not be limited to:

���� a.���� a� description of a
plan to significantly improve the academic, health, and social outcomes of
children and families living in an identified targeted geographic area and to
support the healthy development and well-being of children and youth in the
qualifying entity�s service area by providing a continuum of solutions to
address the targeted geographic area�s needs.� The authority shall ensure that
a continuum of solutions awarded a grant is based on the best available
research and evidence.� A plan awarded a grant shall also ensure that, over
time, students not living in the targeted geographic area who attend the school
or schools in the service area have access to services provided by the eligible
entity;

���� b.���� a description of the targeted
geographic area to be served and the level of distress in that area based on
indicators of need and other relevant indicators. �The statement of need in the
targeted geographic area shall be based, in part, on results of a comprehensive
needs assessment and segmentation analysis;

���� c.���� whether the eligible
entity intends to service multiple, non-contiguous targeted geographic areas;

���� d.��� a description of the applicant�s
measurable short-term, long-term, and annual goals for expected outcomes based
on grant program indicators, which shall include, but not be limited to:

���� (1)�� performance goals, in
accordance with the metrics for each year of the grant award;

���� (2)�� projected participation
rates and any plans to expand the number of children serviced by the grant award
over time; and

���� (3)�� annual goals for
evaluating the continuum of solutions, such as changes in policies,
environments, or organizations that affect children and youth in the targeted
geographic area;

���� e.���� an analysis of the
needs and assets of the targeted geographic area including, but not limited to:

���� (1)�� a description of the
process through which the needs assessment and segmentation analysis was
produced pursuant to subsection b. of this section, including a description of
how family and community members were engaged in the analysis;

���� (2)�� an explanation of how
the applicant will use the needs assessment and segmentation analysis to
determine the children and families with the highest needs and ensure that
those children and families receive the appropriate services from the continuum
of solutions; and

���� (3)�� an identification and
description of the educational indicators and community and family support
indicators the applicant used in conducting the needs assessment, which shall
be used as continuum of solutions indicators to track the continuum of
solutions� progress;

���� f.���� an analysis of
community assets within, or accessible to, the targeted geographic area,
including, at minimum:

���� (1)�� early learning programs,
including home visiting, high-quality childcare, early Head Start programs, and
pre-kindergarten programs, community centers, after-school programs, and other
opportunities for out-of-school time learning activities;

���� (2)�� public transportation
and parks;

���� (3)�� the availability of
healthy food options;

���� (4)�� youth sports programs or
other opportunities for physical activity;

���� (5)�� existing family and
student support programs;

���� (6)�� businesses and employers
located in the community; and

���� (7)�� institutions of higher
education;

���� g.���� evidence of successful
collaboration between the applicant and individuals or entities in the
applicant�s proposed service area that has led to positive changes in educational
outcomes for children;

���� h.���� a description of
solutions that shall be used in the continuum of solutions based on data
collected, including a description of solutions specifically targeting
children, family members, community members, and children not attending schools
or programs operated by the applicant and its partners.� The applicant shall
also describe:

���� (1)�� the process by which
each solution is to be implemented and an expected timeline for launching each
solution;

���� (2)�� the partners that will
participate in the implementation of each solution in any case the applicant
does not implement the solution directly;

���� (3)�� the estimated per child
cost and cost projections over time, including administrative costs, to
implement each solution;

���� (4)�� the estimated number of
children, by age, and families in the applicant�s proposed service area who
will be served by each solution, including:

���� (a)�� the percentage of all
children of the same age group within the applicant�s proposed service area
proposed to be served with each solution and the annual targets required to
increase the proportion of children served to reach scale over time;

���� (b)�� how the segmentation
analysis as described in subsection b. of this section was used in targeting the
children and youth to be served;

���� (c)�� financial projections of
the cost of the solutions over time; and

���� (d)�� the best available
evidence supporting each proposed solution;

���� i.����� a description of the
process used to develop the information used in the application, including the
involvement of family and community members;

���� j.����� a description of the
process through which the applicant proposes to develop, launch, and implement
a longitudinal data system that integrates student-level data from multiple
sources to measure progress on educational and family and community support
indicators for all children in the service area, including how the applicant
has:

���� (1)�� linked or is making
progress to link the longitudinal data system to school-based and State data
systems;

���� (2)�� made or will make data
accessible to parents, families, community residents, program partners,
researchers, and evaluators at either the individual or aggregate level as
appropriate while abiding by federal, State, and other privacy laws and
requirements; and

���� (3)�� planned to manage and
maintain the system over time.

���� k.���� an explanation of how
the applicant will continuously evaluate and improve the continuum of solutions,
including a description of metrics that will be used to inform each solution
and the process for using data to improve instruction, optimize integrated
student supports, provide for continuous program improvement, and hold staff
and partner organizations accountable;

���� l.����� identification of a
fiscal agent, which may be any person or entity;

���� m.��� a list of federal,
State, local, and private sources of funding that the applicant will secure to
comply with the matching-funds requirement as provided in subsection d. of
section 5 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill);

���� n.���� a preliminary
memorandum of understanding signed by each partner entity the applicant intends
to employ in executing the proposed continuum of solutions, which shall
describe, at minimum:

���� (1)�� each partner�s
commitment and contribution toward achieving each result at population level;

���� (2) each partner's financial
and programmatic commitment with respect to the strategies described in the
application, including identification of a fiscal agent;

���� (3)�� the governance structure
proposed for the continuum of solutions� within the applicant�s proposed
service area, including a system for how the applicant will hold partners
accountable, representation of the residents of the service area on the
applicant�s governing and advisory board, and resident engagement from the service
area in the applicant�s decision making;

���� (4)�� each partner�s long-term
commitment to providing continuum of solutions services that, at minimum,
account for the cost of supporting the continuum, including after grant funds
have been exhausted, and potential changes in local government;

���� (5)�� each partner�s mission
and plan that will govern the work that partners do together;

���� (6)�� each partner�s long-term
commitment to supporting the continuum of solutions through data collection,
monitoring, reporting, and sharing of information;

���� (7)�� each partner�s
commitment to ensuring sound fiscal management and controls, including evidence
of a system of supports and personnel; and

���� (8)�� information pertaining
to the amount of assistance the applicant is seeking under the program to
achieve measurable outcomes under authority performance standards.

���� 7.���� The authority shall
establish performance standards to annually measure progress on indicators and
results of the continuum of solutions, as provided to the authority by the
eligible entity.� Each targeted geographic area representative shall select the
performance standards the authority will track over a defined period of time,
as determined by the authority; however, a targeted geographic area
representative may propose additional standards aligned with local priorities.�
The authority may begin by tracking a limited set of standards and the targeted
geographic area representative may add additional measures over time as
capacity and initiatives expand.� The following are the minimum required
performance standards the authority shall measure:

���� a.���� kindergarten readiness:

���� (1)�� the number and
percentage of children from birth to kindergarten age who have a place they may
go, other than an emergency room, when they are sick or in need of healthcare;

���� (2)�� the number and
percentage of three-year olds and children in kindergarten who demonstrate
age-appropriate functioning across multiple areas of early learning as
determined using developmentally-appropriate early learning measures; and

���� (3)�� the number and
percentage of children from birth to kindergarten age participating in daycare
center-based or formal home-based early learning settings or programs, which
may include Head Start or preschool.

���� b.���� the number and
percentage of students at or above grade level according to State mathematics
and reading or language arts assessments in at least the grades required by the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.);

���� c.���� the attendance rate of
students in sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades;

���� d.��� the four-year graduation
rate, by cohort;

���� e.���� the number and
percentage of students within the designated targeted geographic area who
graduate with a regular high school diploma and obtain postsecondary degrees,
vocational certificates, or other industry-recognized certifications or
credentials without the need for remediation;

���� f.���� student health,
including the number and percentage of children who participate in at least 60
minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily;

���� g.���� student safety,
including:

���� (1)�� the number and
percentage of students who feel safe at school and traveling to and from
school, measured by a school climate of needs assessment or other instrument;
and

���� (2)�� substantiated cases of
child abuse or neglect;

���� h.���� community stability,
including:

���� (1)�� student mobility rate in
schools within the targeted geographic area; and

���� (2)�� percent of children in
foster care, excluding kinship care, or otherwise living apart from their
biological or adoptive parents;

���� i.����� family and community
support of schools served by the continuum of solutions in the targeted
geographic area, including:

���� (1)�� for children from birth
to kindergarten age, the number and percentage of parents or family members who
report that they read to their child three or more times a week;

���� (2)�� for children
kindergarten through eighth grade; the number and percentage of parents or
family members who report encouraging their child to read books outside of
school; and

���� (3)�� for children ninth
through 12th grades, the number and percentage of parents or family members who
report talking with their child about the importance of college and career;

���� j.����� the number and
percentage of students who have school and home access to broadband Internet
and a connected, useable computing device, including how much time during the
day the student has access to the device;

���� k.���� family stability,
including:

���� (1)�� the number and
percentage of families experience housing instability in the last 12 months;

���� (2) the number and percentage
of families who are paying more than 30 percent of income on rent or mortgage;
and

���� (3) the number and percentage
of families with reliable access to food, including the number and percentage
of families participating in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program or federal WIC program, as those terms are defined in section 3 of
P.L.2011, c.223 (C.4:10-25.5);

���� l.����� employment and
earnings data, including:

���� (1)�� labor force
participation rates among working-age adults in the service area;

���� (2)�� the employment rate
among working-age adults; and

���� (3)�� the number and
percentage of people receiving continuum of solutions services moving towards
earning at least 300 percent of the poverty level;

���� m.��� connection to social
services, including:

���� (1)�� the number and
percentage of families successfully connected to at least one needed social
service within 30 to 60 days of application;

���� (2)�� the average time from
referrable to service start date, differentiated by service type;

���� (3)�� the number of repeat
crises within 21 months, such as repeat shelter entry or repeat utility
shutoff; and

���� (4)�� user satisfaction with
partner supports.

���� 8.���� a.� Each eligible entity
that receives a grant pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) shall prepare and submit an annual report
to the authority, which shall include, but not be limited to:

���� (1)�� information concerning
the number and percentage of children, family members, and community members in
the continuum of solution�s service area, including a description of the number
and percentage of children accessing each of the continuum of solution�s services
and the number of family and community members served by the grant;

���� (2)�� disaggregated data at
population and service area levels concerning the continuum of solution�s
success in annual growth along continuum of solutions indicators, which shall
be disaggregated by:

���� (a)�� gender;

���� (b)�� racial and ethnic
groups;

���� (c)�� disability status; and

���� (d)�� economic disadvantage
status;

���� (3)�� information concerning
the performance standards provided in section 7 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill);

���� (4)�� an evaluation of the
implementation and impact of the continuum of solutions funded by the grant,
including the costs and benefits of the solutions, relative expenditures;

���� (5)�� the identification of
best practices to improve the effectiveness of the continuum of solutions; and

���� (6)�� any other information
deemed necessary by the authority.

���� b.���� The eligible entity
shall disseminate to the public, in a form and manner determined by the
authority, its findings on best practices to improve academic, social, and
health outcomes for children, families, and communities in this State.

���� 9.���� The New Jersey Economic
Development Authority, in consultation with any public or private entity as
deem appropriate by the authority, shall adopt rules and regulations, in
accordance with the �Administrative Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1
et seq.), as necessary to implement the provisions of P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� 10.�� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Economic Development Authority the sum of $30,000,000
to provide grants pursuant to section 5 of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� 11.� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the New
Jersey Partnerships for Results and Opportunity through Multisector
Integration, Services, and Education program (grant program) in the New Jersey
Economic Development Authority (EDA), which is to administer the grant program.�
The EDA is to award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities, as
defined in the bill, to implement a comprehensive, integrated continuum of
solutions based on the best available evidence, within targeted geographic
areas, as defined in the bill.� A targeted geographic area is required to meet
certain statistics enumerated in the bill.

���� The EDA is to review and
approve grant applications on a rolling basis, subject to the availability of
funds for the grant program.� An eligible entity is to be chosen pursuant to
the eligible entity�s proposed continuum of solutions in one or more service
areas to improve academic achievement, including in early childhood education,
child and youth social and health development, college and career readiness,
and plan to build strong family and community support services by showing
demonstrable improvement in outcomes.

���� The EDA is to establish three
grant tracks for the program, as described in the bill.� The bill requires an
eligible entity to pursue sources of matching funding to be eligible for a
grant.

���� To participate in the grant
program, the bill requires an eligible entity to submit an application to the
EDA, in a form and manner to be determined by the EDA.� The application is to
include, but not be limited to, information specified in the bill.

���� The EDA is to establish
performance standards to annually measure progress on indicators and results of
the continuum of solutions in service areas, as provided to the EDA by the
eligible entity.� Each targeted geographic area representative, required pursuant
to the application process, is to select the performance standards the EDA will
track over a defined period of time, as determined by the EDA; however, a
targeted geographic area representative may propose additional standards
aligned with local priorities.� The EDA may begin by tracking a limited set of
standards and the service area representative may add additional measures over
time as capacity and initiatives expand.� The bill provides for minimum
required performance standards the EDA is to measure.

���� The bill requires an eligible
entity that receives a grant under the bill to prepare and submit an annual
report to the EDA, which is to include certain information enumerated in the
bill.

���� The bill provides that the
eligible entity is to disseminate, in a form and manner determined by the EDA,
its findings on best practices to improve academic, social, and health outcomes
for children, families, and communities in this State.

���� The EDA in consultation with
the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Human Services,
is to adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as necessary to implement
the provisions of the bill.

���� This bill appropriates from
the General Fund to the EDA the sum of $30 million to provide grants pursuant
to the bill.