STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
Senator ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Johnson, Turner and Burgess
SYNOPSIS
Increases Work First New Jersey Child Care appropriation by $28 million in FY2026 annual appropriations act to ensure full funding of child care subsidy program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
A Supplement to the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, P.L.2025, c.74.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The following item and language provision in section 1 of P.L.2025, c.74, the annual appropriations act for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, are amended as follows:
54 DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
50 Economic Planning, Development, and Security
53 Economic Assistance and Security
7550 Division of Family Development
GRANTS-IN-AID
15-7550 Income Maintenance Management [$616,711,000] $644,711,000
Total Grants-in-Aid appropriation,
Division of Family Development [$616,711,000] $644,711,000
Grants-in-Aid:
15 Work First New Jersey Child Care [($565,805,000)] ($593,805,000)
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 2 of P.L.1993, c.46 (C.30:5B-31) or any other law or regulation to the contrary, [of the amounts hereinabove appropriated for Work First New Jersey Child Care and for the avoidance of doubt,] the Commissioner of Human Services[, in consultation with the Division of Family Development, is authorized to pause or terminate acceptance of applications for child care assistance in the event that projected program expenditures exceed the amount hereinabove appropriated for Work First New Jersey Child Care, subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Budget and Accounting; provided, however, that in the event that sufficient funding is determined to be available, applications received during the time period that enrollment is reopened, as determined by the Director of the Division of Family Development, shall be prioritized in the following order: (1) families at or below 100% of the federal poverty level; (2) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families children; (3) children under the auspices of Child Protective Services; (4) children with special needs/disabilities, and (5) all other children.] shall 1) discontinue any pause in the processing of applications for child care assistance and approve eligibility for any applicant who meets standards that are no more rigorous than the eligibility criteria in place on June 30, 2025; and 2) implement family copayments for child care assistance which are no more than those family copayments in place on June 30, 2025.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill increases the Work First New Jersey Child Care appropriation by $28 million, from $565.8 million to $593.8 million, in the FY2026 annual appropriations act. This line item supports the State’s child care subsidy program, which assists lower-income families by paying a portion of their child care expenses.
During the FY2026 Budget proceedings, the Commissioner of Human Services stated that the Governor’s Budget Recommendation underfunded the child care subsidy program by approximately $25 to $30 million and, as a result, the Department of Human Services would need to pause enrollment and increase family copayments under this program at an unknown point in FY2026. Accordingly, on August 1, 2025 the child care subsidy program ceased accepting new applications for its largest eligibility group, the child care assistance program, and increased family copayments for this eligibility group from one to five percent of a family’s income to two to six percent of a family’s income.
This bill appropriates an additional $28 million for the State’s child care subsidy program, the balance of the funding shortfall projected by the Commissioner of Human Services after a $2.0 million increase was incorporated in the FY2026 annual appropriations act by the Legislature, to ensure the full operation of this critical program. The bill also removes budget language newly added in the FY2026 annual appropriations act that clarifies that the department may suspend the acceptance of applications for child care subsidies in the event of insufficient funding. Under the bill, budget language is added that requires the Commissioner of Human Services to resume the acceptance of applications for child care assistance and implement family copayments, at no more rigorous standards than those in place on June 30, 2025, thereby returning the program to its pre-August 1 policies.