Jersey City Unanimously Passes Resolution Demanding Full CCAP Funding, Becoming Sixth NJ Municipality to Demand Action Before Budget Deadline

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The Jersey City Council voted unanimously last night to pass a resolution calling on Trenton to fully fund the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) in the FY2027 state budget, making Jersey City the sixth municipality in New Jersey to formally demand action as the June 30 budget deadline approaches.

The vote follows similar resolutions passed unanimously in Newark, Perth Amboy, Elizabeth, Linden, and the City of Orange. Notably, the City of Orange's unanimous passage was not previously announced, making this also the first public confirmation that six New Jersey municipalities—representing a growing bipartisan consensus—have now formally demanded that the state fully fund child care.

"A year ago, DHS froze CCAP enrollment and families were shut out without warning. Last night, Jersey City—our state's second-largest city—voted unanimously to demand that CCAP is fully funded, so that never happens again. That victory, like the five before it, like the thousands of letters hitting legislators' desks this week, like the organizational sign-on letter we delivered to the Governor, was led by early childhood educators and parents organizing with NJ Communities United. This is a worker to worker movement; a parent to parent movement; a community to community movement; not a paid lobbying campaign. With this grassroots power, 6 municipalities, thousands of constituents, and dozens of organizations are speaking with one voice: fully fund CCAP, raise the eligibility threshold, and treat child care workers like the essential working class infrastructure they are,” said Trina Scordo, MSW, Executive Director of NJ Communities United.

The resolution comes at a critical juncture. Last year, a funding shortfall forced the Department of Human Services to freeze CCAP enrollment for nine months, shutting out eligible families without warning and destabilizing child care centers that rely on CCAP reimbursements to survive. The $18 million proposed by DHS for FY2027 merely returns the program to pre-freeze levels without addressing rising costs, increased co-pays, provider overages beyond subsidy rates, or the thousands of families who qualify under current rules but remain shut out by administrative barriers. Some in-home family child care providers earn as little as $5.32 per hour after covering operational costs, often working without health insurance or retirement security.

Fully funding child care isn't just the right thing to do, it's also achievable.  New Jersey faces budget shortfalls across the board, from child care to transit to affordable housing, because our tax code protects the wealthy instead of working families. We are calling on Trenton to stop letting millionaires and corporations off the hook.  Instead, let's pass the Super Millionaire's tax and close corporate offshoring loopholes. Doing that would allow us to generate the revenue to fully fund CCAP and address the host of other critical needs. The money is there. What's missing is the political will to make the people at the top pay their fair share,” said NJ Citizen Action Work Justice Program Director, Yarrow Willman-Cole.

"When families cannot afford child care, everyone feels the impact. Children miss out on early learning opportunities that help prepare them for success in school. Parents experience financial stress. Employers struggle to retain workers. And child care providers who perform some of the most important work in our communities often earn wages that do not reflect the value of what they do," said Habibah Johnson, a parent in Jersey City. "Passing this resolution sends a powerful message that Jersey City understands the importance of investing in children and families. It tells our state leaders that families need real solutions and sustained investments in child care. It tells working parents that we see them. And it tells child care providers that their work matters."

"For many of the low-income working families we organize with —parents who load laundry, scrub floors, stock shelves, and clock in at irregular hours —child care isn't a perk, it's the difference between keeping a job and losing a pay check. Irregular hours and poverty wages leave no room for crisis, yet our state has treated child care as an afterthought," said Executive Director of the Laundry Worker Center Rosanna Rodriguez. "New Jersey has underfunded a key program for working families and we are also devaluing the very workforce that makes all other work possible. New Jersey must invest in CCAP—not just to unsure it remains open, but to honor the dignity of every parent who works long shifts and every educator who shows up before dawn to care for their children." 

The Jersey City vote caps a week of escalating statewide pressure. On Tuesday, NJ Communities United launched a letter campaign that generated over 1,765 letters to legislators in less than 24 hours from supporters demanding full CCAP funding and comprehensive legislative reforms. In addition, Child Care For All NJ delivered an organizational sign-on letter to Governor Sherrill and legislative leadership, backed by dozens of organizations including 32BJ SEIU, 1199SEIU, AFT New Jersey, CWA locals, New Jersey Citizen Action, NJ Policy Perspective, and NJ Working Families Alliance.

Beyond immediate funding, advocates are calling for legislative action to begin to fix the broken system, including: