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What resources or programs are available to help families with children or child care providers?

As of Wednesday, April 1, only child care centers that exclusively serve the children of essential workers are allowed to remain open. Emergency child care centers that remain open must abide by new Department of Children and Families health and safety guidelines. Click here to learn more.

Parents who are essential workers as defined by the Executive Order No. 110 can visit the Division of Family Development's Emergency Child Care Assistance page for more information.

Family child care centers are not affected by Executive Order No. 110, to get help with locating an open family child care provider, contact your local CCR&R.

More information for parents and child care providers is available here.

Emergency Child Care Resources for Essential Workers

New Jersey is launching an Emergency Child Care Assistance Program (ECCAP) to help support child care costs when a parent or guardian is an essential employee, regardless of your income. The Department of Human Services' Division of Family Development will administer the program.

If you are an "essential" employee (as defined above) needing child care, you must register with the Department's county-based Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Agencies.

"Essential" employees who are normally eligible for the Child Care Subsidy Program must enroll in the ECCAP to continue receiving child care services. Your CCR&R will follow-up with you within two business days to gather additional information about you and your needs and help you identify a child care provider.

Visit the Division of Family Development's Emergency Child Care page for more information.

Resources for child care providers

Additional Resources For New Jersey Families and Child Care Providers

New Jersey's Child Care Subsidy Program was expanded to support New Jersey families and providers that have been impacted by the spread of COVID-19. This includes:

  • Continuing to pay child care providers for an extended period of time encouraged for those required to close by the health department, school district, or county executive related to COVID-19.
  • Ensuring providers commit to clean at the highest level of disinfection cleaning during this period of time.
  • Waiving parents/caregivers' child care subsidy co-payments for parents who request it due to impacts from COVID-19.
  • Providing child care providers who remain open during this critical time a differential of $100 per child each month above the state reimbursed rate for children enrolled in the child care subsidy program.
  • Compensating providers who remain open even if children are absent due to COVID-19;
  • Giving extended time to working parents to submit verification of works hours for the initial application process.
  • Extending recertification timelines for at least three months in order for child care services to remain open.
  • Allowing parents or caregivers to continue their child care subsidy if their hours are reduced or if they are laid off due to COVID-19.
  • Making grants available for child care providers who participate in the child care subsidy program, including family child care providers, to clean and sanitize their facility or home; or to purchase additional supplies or services necessary to keeping centers and homes safe and sanitary.

More information is available in this Policy Snapshot on "Emergency and Disaster Child Care Policy" from the Office of Child Care Operations. In addition, the Department of Health has issued guidance on COVID-19 for child care providers.

Information related to COVID-19 will continue to be posted on the Department of Human Services Novel Coronavirus Information page: https://nj.gov/humanservices/coronavirus.html.

Updated/Reviewed: 4/9/20

Source: https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/approved/20200318b.shtml