NJAEYC

New Jersey, as nearly all states in the country, is experiencing a serious budget deficit. Governor Corzine has been faced with making some deep cuts to important programs. He, like President Obama, has made a commitment to support early childhood education. However, many of our state legislators are not convinced that funding for the education of young children is critical to the economic future of NJ.

If we are to preserve and strengthen funding streams to preparing young children for school success, and support families with access to full day programs to enable them to work, advocacy is critical. ACNJ has developed an advocacy toolkit for child care providers, parents, and other child advocates to influence policy related to the services that NJAEYC members provide. Please use the following link to access these tools:

http://www.acnj.org/main.asp?uri=1003&di=1187

Now is the time to write letters to Governor Corzine and local state legislators to invite them into community child care programs. Parents must write letters to express the importance of their early childhood experience and demand that funding for these programs continues. The proposed budget is under tight scrutiny so we must make our voices heard. The budget becomes effective on July 1, 2009 with legislative debates taking place now. The consequences of our inaction to NJ's young children may be devastating.

ACT NOW

For more information or further assistance, please contact Dr. Lorraine Cooke, VP, Public Policy at lcooke9867@aol.com.