Rutgers Center for Women & Work join coalition to support affordable child care

The Center for Women & Work (CWW) at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations partnered with various other organizations in New Jersey to create the First 1,000 Days Policy Coalition, which aims to provide affordable child care and other supportive measures for New Jersey families, according to a University article. 

Because federal funding has dried up, more than 1,300 child care programs could be shut down and approximately 104,000 children could be left without care in New Jersey, the report said. The state will also lose $18 million in income tax revenue, as parents would have to take a step back from their work-related responsibilities.

Knowing that the first 1,000 days of a child's life are crucial for their development, CWW along with Moms First, Advocates for Children of New Jersey and the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, hopes to drive policy around child care infrastructure, which includes a paid family leave program. 

They also look to increase investments in family well-being, already having established funding from philanthropies such as the Schumann Fund for New Jersey and Maher Charitable Foundation. 

"The timing is right to put the science and evidence to work and design and advance a policy agenda that promises to be transformational for New Jersey families," said Debra Lancaster, the executive director of CWW.