ASSEMBLY CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND FOOD SECURITY COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2247

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 7, 2026

      The Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 2247 (1R).

      As amended by the committee, this bill requires the Division of Family Development (the division) in the Department of Human Services (DHS) to establish and maintain, on an ongoing basis, a system for registering and tracking all applicants and prospective applicants to the State’s child care assistance program.

      As amended, the bill requires the registration system to:  (1) maintain a waiting list of persons who wish to apply to receive assistance through the State’s child care assistance program; (2) implement procedures by which such persons on the waiting list are to be invited to apply for assistance through the State’s child care assistance program as determined by the division; (3) establish methods for notifying persons on the waiting list when they can submit their applications for the State’s child care assistance program to the division, and when the division will process their applications, 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 provide persons who have been invited to apply for assistance with help in completing and submitting applications for the State’s child care assistance program.

     As amended, the bill requires the division to also publish an annual report, made available on the DHS website and submitted to the Governor and the Legislature, containing aggregate data about persons on the waiting list, persons who were invited to apply, and persons who did in fact apply 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) applications received from persons who were invited to apply to receive services through the State’s child care assistance program; (3) persons who were invited to apply to receive services through the program and who applied to receive services, were determined eligible, and approved for enrollment in the program; (4) persons who wish to apply to receive assistance through the program on the waiting list; and (5) persons who were invited to apply to receive services through the program and were determined ineligible for the program.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to include a legislative findings and declaration section.

      The committee amended the bill to require the division to establish and maintain, on an ongoing basis, a system for registering and tracking all applicants and prospective applicants to the State’s child care assistance program.

      The committee amended the bill to remove references to “presumptively eligible applicant” “and “applicant” and replace such references with “person who wishes to apply to receive assistance through the State’s child care assistance program,” “person who was invited to apply for assistance through the State’s child care assistance program,” and “person on the waiting list.”

      The committee amended the bill to remove the requirement that notification be provided to those on the waiting list that applications will not be processed due to limited funding.

      The committee amended the bill to stipulate that the registration system, instead of the division itself as originally provided in the bill, is to:  (1) maintain a waiting list of those persons who wish to apply to receive assistance through the State’s child care assistance program; (2) implement procedures by which persons on the waiting list are to be invited to apply for assistance through the State’s child care assistance program as determined by the division; (3) establish methods for notifying persons on the waiting list when they can submit their applications for the State’s child care assistance program and when the division shall process their applications; and (4) designate child care resource and referral agencies contracted with the division to provide persons who have been invited to apply for assistance with help in completing and submitting applications for the State’s child care assistance program.

      The committee amended the bill to remove the requirements that the division develop a self-attestation form and permit an applicant to the State’s child care assistance program to establish eligibility via the form.

      The committee amended the bill to specify that the report published pursuant to the bill is to contain information on the number of:  (1) applications received from persons who were invited to apply to receive services through the State’s child care assistance program; and (2) persons who were invited to apply to receive services through the program and who applied to receive services, were determined eligible, and approved for enrollment in the program.

      The committee amended the bill to delete the definition of “presumptively eligible applicant.”

      The committee amended the bill to make technical changes to address grammar, punctuation, correct certain cross-citations, and update the synopsis of the bill to reflect the changes made by the committee amendments.