New Jersey among states to receive share of $280M in early learning grants
New Jersey won $44 million Thursday in a federal grant competition aimed at lifting the quality of child care programs and their staffs.
One of six states to share $280 million in the latest round of the Obama administration’s Race to the Top contest, New Jersey plans to create training academies for center employees and develop a Consumer Reports-style rating system to help parents shop around online.
Several enthusiastic advocates predicted the grant would spur better child care in a state that has lacked consistent standards for curriculum, staff credentials and supplies among various types of providers, including centers and family settings.
“If a center gets a low rating it will be embarrassed into improving,” said Veronica Ray, president of the New Jersey Head Start Association. “No center wants to be low man on the totem pole when it affects enrollment.”
The Early Learning Challenge grant is part of the Obama administration’s push to invest in babies, toddlers and preschoolers so they start kindergarten ready to learn. The president has called for a $75 billion, 10-year investment in federal-state partnerships to provide preschool for all poor and moderate-income 4-year-olds, but critics have called the idea far too expensive and unrealistic. (Brody/The Record)
