STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Ruiz
SYNOPSIS
Requires Department of Treasury and DHS to annually identify State funds available for NJ FamilyCare and child care services, evaluate programs, and create prioritized list of initiatives to improve quality of care under programs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning NJ FamilyCare and child care and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Commencing January 1 next following the effective date of this section, and annually thereafter, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury and the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), that:
(1) identifies all unencumbered or unallocated State funds that are available to be appropriated in the current fiscal year to the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services for the purposes of NJ FamilyCare and any program that utilizes Medicaid funds including, but not limited to, school-based health services reimbursed by Medicaid; and
(2) evaluates the quality of care for beneficiaries across NJ FamilyCare and compiles a prioritized list of the 12 most urgent policy changes and legislative actions, along with the associated State funds necessary to implement those initiatives, that are required to address any quality of care deficiency identified in the evaluation.
b. As used in this section, “NJ FamilyCare” means the program established pursuant to P.L.2005, c.156 (C.30:4J-8 et al.), which includes the Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
2. a. Commencing January 1 next following the effective date of this section, and annually thereafter, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury and the Director of the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), that:
(1) identifies all unencumbered or unallocated State funds that are available to be appropriated in the current fiscal year to the Department of Human Services for the purposes of providing subsidy payments for child care services; and
(2) evaluates the quality of child care services in the State and compiles a prioritized list of the 12 most urgent policy changes and legislative actions, along with the associated State funds necessary to implement those initiatives, that are required to address any deficiency identified in the evaluation.
b. As used in this section, “child care services” means those services provided to eligible children, as certified by the Division of Family Development, for which the division receives and administers State and federal funding to provide subsidy payments to licensed child care providers or registered family day care providers.
3. The State Treasurer and the Commissioner of Human Services, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
This bill directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury and the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services in the Department of Human Services to annually prepare and submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature that: (1) identifies all unencumbered or unallocated State funds that are available to be appropriated in the current fiscal year to the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services for the purposes of NJ FamilyCare and any program that utilizes Medicaid funds including, but not limited to, school-based health services reimbursed by Medicaid; and (2) evaluates the quality of care for beneficiaries across NJ FamilyCare and compiles a prioritized list of the 12 most urgent policy changes and legislative actions, along with the associated State funds necessary to implement those initiatives, that are required to address any quality of care deficiency identified in the evaluation. NJ FamilyCare provides health insurance to certain low-income residents of the State via the Medicaid program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
This bill directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Department of the Treasury and the Director of the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services to annually prepare and submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature that: (1) identifies all unencumbered or unallocated State funds that are available to be appropriated in the current fiscal year to the Department of Human Services for the purposes of providing subsidy payments for child care services; and (2) evaluates the quality of child care services in the State and compiles a prioritized list of the 12 most urgent policy changes and legislative actions, along with the associated State funds necessary to implement those initiatives, that are required to address any deficiency identified in the evaluation.
The bill defines “child care services” to mean those services provided to eligible children, as certified by the Division of Family Development, for which the division receives and administers State and federal funding to provide subsidy payments to licensed child care providers or registered family day care providers.