ASSEMBLY AGING AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
ASSEMBLY, No. 2247
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: FEBRUARY 19, 2026
The Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2247.
As amended by the committee, this bill requires the Division of Family Development (the division) in the Department of Human Services (DHS) to: (1) maintain a waiting list of those presumptively eligible applicants who apply to receive assistance through the State’s child care assistance program and are notified that their applications will not be processed due to limited funding; (2) implement procedures by which such persons may be placed on the waiting list; (3) establish methods for notifying presumptively eligible applicants when the division will process their applications for the State’s child care assistance program once funding becomes available, including, but not limited to, posting such information on its Internet website; and (4) designate child care resource and referral agencies contracted with the division to serve as an access point to assist presumptively eligible applicants with completing and submitting applications for the State’s child care assistance program and the self-attestation forms developed pursuant to the bill.
As amended, the bill defines a presumptively eligible applicant as a person who has submitted a completed self-attestation form proving that the person meets the State’s child care assistance program eligibility criteria, including income requirements, residency requirements, household composition, or participation in work, education, or job training activities, and is awaiting a determination and certification of eligibility for placement on the waiting list to receive assistance through the State’s child care assistance program.
As amended, the bill requires the division, for purposes of placement of a presumptively eligible applicant on the waiting list, to permit the applicant to establish eligibility via a standardized self-attestation form, developed by the division and made publicly available, either online through the Department of Human Services’ Internet website or in paper form to be distributed by child care resource and referral agencies, in languages including, but not limited to English and Spanish. The applicant is permitted to submit the application for the State’s child care assistance program and the self-attestation form electronically on the division’s Internet website, in person, through a child care resource and referral agency, or by mail.
The division is also to publish, at least semi-annually, a report, made available on the DHS website and submitted to the Governor and the Legislature, containing data about presumptively eligible applicants qualified for, and applying to receive assistance through, the State’s child care assistance program, including, information on the number of: (1) applications received for the State’s child care assistance program; (2) presumptively eligible applicants, as determined by submission of a completed self-attestation form; (3) applicants determined eligible and approved for enrollment in the program; (4) applicants placed on the waiting list due to insufficient program funding; and (5) applicants determined ineligible for the program, including aggregate reason categories for ineligibility, such as income exceeding eligibility limits, incomplete applications, or failure to meet activity requirements or other program criteria.
As amended, the report is to include information, to the extent practicable, on the: average processing time for applications; average length of time applicants remain on the waiting list; geographic distribution of applicants by county; and total number of children by age represented by applicants.
This bill was prefiled for introduction in the 2026-2027 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review, which has been performed.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS
The committee amended the bill to replace references to “income-eligible persons,” “qualified applicants,” and “qualified persons” with “presumptively eligible applicants,” and defines “presumptively eligible applicant” as a person who has submitted a completed self-attestation form proving that the person meets the State’s child care assistance program eligibility criteria, including income requirements, residency requirements, household composition, or participation in work, education, or job training activities, and is awaiting a determination and certification of eligibility for placement on the waiting list to receive assistance through the State’s child care assistance program.
The committee amendments require the division to designate child care resource and referral agencies contracted with the division to serve as access points to assist presumptively eligible applicants with completing and submitting applications for the State’s child care assistance program and the self-attestation forms.
The committee amendments stipulate that, for purposes of placement of a presumptively eligible applicant on the waiting list, the division is to permit the applicant to establish eligibility via a standardized self-attestation form, developed by the division and made publicly available, either online through the DHS’ Internet website or in paper form to be distributed by child care resource and referral agencies, in languages including, but not limited to English and Spanish.
The committee amendments permit the applicant to submit the application for the State’s child care assistance program and the self-attestation form electronically on the division’s Internet website, in person, through a child care resource and referral agency, or by mail.
The committee amendments specify that the self-attestation form include information necessary to establish presumptive eligibility including, but not limited to, the applicant’s income, household composition, residency, participation in work, education, or job training activities, the birth month and year of each child requiring care, and the applicant’s contact information, including email address, telephone number, or other available methods the division can use to contact the applicant.
The committee amendments stipulate that the: (1) completion and submission of the self-attestation form is sufficient to establish presumptive eligibility for placement on the waiting list; (2) division is prohibited from requiring the submission of pay stubs, tax returns, employer verification, or any other form of income verification as a condition of placement on the waiting list; (3) final determination and certification that an applicant is eligible for placement on the waiting list is to be made at the time the division processes the application for enrollment in the State’s child care assistance program; (4) division is to notify an applicant of their placement on the waiting list and any change in application status within 10 business days of the receipt of a completed self-attestation form; and (5) failure to provide notification to the applicant within that timeframe shall not delay or prevent the applicant’s placement on the waiting list.
The committee amendments require the division to publish, at least semi-annually, instead of annually, as originally provided in the bill, a report, made available on the DHS website and submitted to the Governor and the Legislature, containing data about presumptively eligible applicants qualified for, and applying to receive assistance through, the State’s child care assistance program.
The committee amendments remove language in the bill that required the report to include the number of: eligible applicants approved to receive services through the program; qualified persons that apply for services through the program and are notified that their applications will not be processed due to limited funding; and applicants placed on the waiting list, and replaces it with language requiring the report to include the number of: presumptively eligible applicants, as determined by submission of a completed self-attestation form; applicants determined eligible and approved for enrollment in the program; applicants placed on the waiting list due to insufficient program funding; and applicants determined ineligible for the program, including aggregate reason categories for ineligibility, such as income exceeding eligibility limits, incomplete applications, or failure to meet activity requirements or other program criteria.
The committee amendments also require the report to include, to the extent practicable, information on the: average processing time for applications; average length of time applicants remain on the waiting list; geographic distribution of applicants by county; and total number of children by age represented by applicants.