SENATE ECONOMIC GROWTH COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 2344
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MARCH 4, 2024
The Senate Economic Growth Committee reports favorably Senate
Bill No. 2344.
As reported, this bill removes registered family child care homes
from eligibility for certain grants for facilities improvements.
In 2021, the State enacted P.L.2021, c.144 (the act) to make
available $54.5 million in federal funds to the New Jersey Economic
Development Authority (EDA) to provide technical assistance to
licensed child care providers and registered family child care homes,
and grants to child care providers for facilities improvements, which
grants are required to be allocated on a rolling basis to licensed child
care providers, registered facility care homes, and child care providers.
The bill amends the act to remove a provision that makes federal
funding available to the EDA to provide technical assistance to
registered family care homes and removes registered child care homes
from being eligible to receive grants for facilities improvements. The
bill also removes all general references to child care providers in order
to clarify that the provisions of the bill only apply to child care
providers who are licensed by the Department of Children and
Families (department), pursuant to N.J.S.A.30:5B-1 et seq.
The initial phase of the EDA’s “Child Care Facilities Improvement
Program” provides grants, in an amount ranging from $50,000 to
$200,000, for qualifying facilities improvement projects undertaken by
child care centers licensed by the department prior to June 4, 2021.
Family child care homes are not eligible for the first phase of the grant
program.
The EDA is currently developing a facilities improvement grant
program, to be funded with State resources that have already been
appropriated to the EDA, for family child care homes.