Contact: Paul Karr, NJ Communities United, [email protected] | 201-600-6244

Third New Jersey Municipality to Demand Action as Trenton Budget Season Heats Up; Resolutions Now Cover Senate President, Senate Majority Leader, and Assembly Speaker Districts

ELIZABETH, NJ — This week, the City of Elizabeth became the third municipality in New Jersey to pass a resolution calling on Trenton to fully fund the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), joining Newark and Perth Amboy in demanding action to reverse the devastating budget cuts that have left working families and child care providers in crisis.

The resolution passed unanimously after more than 20 members of NJ Communities United — child care providers and parents directly impacted by the cuts — turned out to the March 24th city council meeting. Though the resolution was not originally on the agenda, members spoke powerfully during the public comment period about the real-world consequences of the state's $30 million budget cut. Their testimony moved the council to suspend the rules, add the resolution to the agenda, and vote it through immediately.

Councilwoman-At-Large Patricia Perkins-Auguste made the motion, seconded by Councilmember William Gallman, Jr.

"This is a win for Elizabeth's working class families," said Trina Scordo, Executive Director of NJ Communities United. "When providers and parents show up and speak truth to power, leaders listen. Councilwoman Perkins-Auguste and Councilmember Gallman heard us — then acted. This is what democracy looks like."

The resolution comes at a critical moment in Trenton's budget negotiations. Last August, a $30 million cut forced New Jersey to freeze CCAP enrollment, pushing working class families into financial crisis and putting child care providers at risk of closure. While Governor Sherrill's recent budget proposal includes an $18 million increase to reopen CCAP, advocates warn that partial funding guarantees future crises.

“Child care providers rely on these subsidies to keep our businesses operating and to continue serving families who depend on us,” said Donna Gallman, an in-home family child care provider living in Elizabeth.” When the subsidy program is frozen, it not only affects the parents who need care for their children, but it also places a serious financial burden on providers whose sole source of income is child care. We are qualified licensed educators, and many of us are part of different programs like NJ Grow Kids to provide quality care for our families and we deserve to be treated seriously as we are the backbone of our communities”

The Elizabeth resolution significantly escalates pressure on legislative leadership. The three resolutions that have passed are located in the counties represented by New Jersey's most powerful lawmakers: Senate President Nicholas Scutari (Union County), Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (Essex County), and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (Middlesex County). These three leaders control which bills reach the floor and what funding priorities survive budget negotiations.

"The message from Newark, Perth Amboy, and now Elizabeth is unmistakable," Scordo added. "The communities that elected Trenton's leadership are demanding they deliver. Child care is an essential economic infrastructure — as critical to a functioning economy as roads and bridges — and it must be fully funded without gaps, waitlists, or excuses. You cannot claim to represent working families and then balance budgets on the backs of parents and providers."

NJ Communities United members will continue organizing across the state to build the grassroots political power required to protect child care from future cuts and ensure CCAP is funded at levels that meet the actual need of working-class families.

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