N.J. to spend $700M to cut child care costs, give $1K bonuses to child care workers – NJ.com

New Jersey will spend more than $700 million in federal coronavirus pandemic funds to try to reduce the cost of child care in the state, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Wednesday.

The money will be used to help parents pay for child care, give bonuses to child care workers and dole out grants to child care centers, he said. The money is coming from the American Rescue Plan.

“We know that child care is one of the key challenges facing families — especially single moms,” Murphy said during his regular COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday.

“Through these investments, we are committing New Jersey to providing the support necessary to ensure that this challenge does not become an obstacle,” he said. “High-quality child care is good for both our kids and their parents.”

Eligible families could have the amount they may owe for fees or the difference between what the state pays and the provider charges covered up to $300 for full-time care, or $150 for part-time care and co-payments in the state’s child care subsidy could be waived.

Also, $1,000 bonuses will be provided beginning this winter to help providers recruit new child care employees and retain current child care staff. Licensed child care centers grant availability will range from $20,000 to $80,000 in the first round, depending on the number of children they serve, according to the administration.

More information is available at www.childcarenj.gov.

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Late last month, Murphy announced the state is offering $500 return-to-work bonuses for unemployed residents in their first paycheck after hiring and employers are eligible for up to $10,000 in wage subsidies to hire and train new workers. Businesses must have 100 or fewer employees and the positions they’re looking to fill need to pay at least $15 an hour to be eligible for the subsidies, he said. His administration is calling it the Return and Earn Program.

New Jersey’s employment rate was 7.2% as of August, down from 7.8% at the start of the year.

The money will come from federal aid and the state is capping the program at $10 million, Murphy said, adding at the time if there’s high demand for it he’ll consider spending more to fund it.

The up to $10,000 subsidies for businesses are meant to cover the cost for a new worker for up to six months on the job, Murphy said.

According to the administration, Return & Earn will reimburse employers for half of the wages paid for regular hours worked. The total reimbursement will be capped at $10,000 per new employee, and at $40,000 per employer. The reimbursement will be valid whether the training occurs in-person at the job site or virtually.

Additional information on that program is at: https://nj.gov/labor/returnandearn.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.