Author: ECCYC

There are 142 fewer licensed child care centers operating in New Jersey since the coronavirus pandemic began, shrinking the pool of children served by 4,700, a top state official said Wednesday.

The economic fallout for the child care industry could have been much worse, Christine Beyer, commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families told the state Assembly Budget Committee at a hearing in Trenton. The loss of 4,700 child care slots — going from 388,266 to 383,613 statewide — represents just a 1.2% decline, she said.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration was the only state to use CARES Act Coronavirus Relief funds to support child care centers throughout the shutdown, Beyer said. The state allocated $210 million in relief for child care centers in the first year of the pandemic, according to Murphy’s office.

“In the midst of the work we are doing around child care, New Jersey really has fared much better than some of our neighboring states in terms of child care center capacity,” Beyer told the committee.

Cecilia Zalkind, president of the research and policy nonprofit Advocates for Children of New Jersey, said she doesn’t share the commissioner’s assessment about the child care industry’s resilience. There was a shortage of affordable options before the pandemic, and the state can’t afford to lose any openings, she said.

“Child care is in crisis,” Zalkind said after the hearing. “Child care has not recovered and parents and programs are suffering. Parents can’t find child care, especially for infants and toddlers, and programs have empty classrooms because they can’t find staff.”

The proposed state budget for the fiscal year that begins in July “needs to make a significant state investment to help parents afford care and help programs staff classrooms,” Zalkind said. “No recovery on any level — especially the state economy — is possible without child care and any loss in available care is significant.”

From March 2020 to April 2022, 663 licensed centers closed and 521 centers opened, resulting in a net loss of 142 but offsetting what could have been a more dramatic impact, Beyer said. There are 3,982 licensed child care centers in the state today, she said.

The state ordered most child care facilities closed in March through June 2020, followed by reduced classroom sizes for another year. Through December 2020, employment fell 6.8 percent among mothers in New Jersey, compared to 3.8 percent among fathers, according to a report by Ready Nation. Nearly one in five mothers of infants and toddlers left the workforce because of a lack of affordable and accessible child care, the report found.

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State Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, D-Essex, introduced a package of bills that would expand the income limits for people who qualify for subsidized child care, create an income tax credit for child care employees, and establish tax incentives for employers who provide on-site child care or reimburse parents for their child care expenses.

The initiatives could cost as much as $350 million, said Ruiz, who pledged to advocate for the legislation during the budget negotiations, which ends on June 30 when a state budget must be approved under the state’s constitution.

Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, R-Atlantic, was one of several members of the budget committee who pressed Beyer for more information about what the state was doing to help the child care industry overcome its problems of filling vacant jobs. “What can DCF do to make things better?” he asked.

Beyer said the department has acted like a human resources office, advertising job postings on its social media account and then helping sort through the resumes that arrived in response. Child care center operators are encouraged to use pandemic relief funds to pay signing and retention bonus to help compete in a very competitive job market, she added.

The state is also committing $5 million to conduct research that would assess the state’s child care needs and study the work force, “identifying incentives and motivating factors for recruiting and retaining entrepreneurs and staff,” according to a budget analysis for the department.

Assemblywoman Aura Dunn, R-Morris, questioned the value of a study that will take time to complete when the state is in “dire need now.”

Beyer said the fact that 500 new child care centers opened during this difficult period is a good sign for the industry’s future. Meanwhile, the state will continue providing aid and assistance.

“The studies, you’re right, may take a little bit of time,” Beyer said. “But I think it’s important to understand what the challenges are going forward.”

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Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio.

Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing:

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It is perhaps an opportunity for Democrats to reset their campaigns on an issue terrain that is more favorable, at least in the abstract, to their party.” – Inside Elections’ Jacob Rubashkin on the political potency of the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade

TOP STORY: With Jones at His Side for Mayor, Baraka Teases a 2025 Guv Run

AROUND THE WEB:

The era of the reusable bag begins in New Jersey 

Christopher Doyle, Press of Atlantic City

• Plastic bags are no more in stores across the Garden State, and customers are working to get a handle on the new rules. The statewide ban took effect Wednesday in New Jersey. It prohibits food, grocery and retail stores from selling or providing to customers single-use plastic bags, as well as polystyrene foam containers.

NJ abortion rights supporters rally to defend Roe v. Wade 

Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight

• Driven by shock and anger over the potential fall of Roe v. Wade, a couple of hundred people turned out in Montclair for an abortion rights rally, one of many that erupted around the nation Tuesday after someone leaked a U.S. Supreme Court draft majority opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion.

Shoppers caught unprepared, but some show support for N.J.’s new plastic bag ban 

Steven Rodas and Jackie Roman, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

• One customer walked out of ShopRite holding 20 bananas in his arms. “I completely forgot this was starting,” he remarked on the way to his car to escape the rain. “This is ridiculous.”

Sherrill on CNN: Supreme Court Roe v. Wade draft shows women still ‘second class citizens’ 

Kevin Coughlin, NJ Spotlight

• Weighing in on this week’s leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision that would overturn constitutional protections for abortion rights, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) told CNN she was shocked but not surprised.

Clash over teaching sex ed, gender identity set for NJ Board of Education 

John Mooney, NJ Spotlight

• The normally sedate State Board of Education — a volunteer panel of 13 people mostly unknown to the public — occasionally comes to public attention with a hot issue of the day.

A leaked Supreme Court decision could galvanize Democrats in midterms — or it may not 

Charles Stile, NorthJersey.com

• The explosive issue of abortion rights was expected tof kick off the midterm congressional campaigns in June — after the Supreme Court was expected to formally release a long-awaited ruling on Roe v. Wade.

What happens to abortion in NJ if Roe v. Wade is overturned? 

Michael Symons, NJ1015

• The prospect that Roe v. Wade will be overturned within months, as evidenced by a draft Supreme Court opinion that isn’t a final decision, would cause a huge change nationally but have little to no immediate impact in New Jersey. A state law enacted in January, when it was evident the Supreme Court was leaning toward overturning abortion rights nationally, codifies the right to an abortion in New Jersey, which doesn’t have some of the restrictions on the procedure that exist in other states.

NJ Schools Development Authority to pay again in scandal fallout. Here’s what it will cost 

Dustin Racioppi, Trenton Bureau

• The Schools Development Authority has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit with a former employee, the latest financial cost for the agency in the fallout of a patronage scandal three years ago. The agreement with Aaron Goss, a longtime employee who claimed he was wrongly included in a mass firing following the scandal, brings the cost of two settlement payouts by the authority to $900,000, with two other suits pending.

South Jersey schools opt to close on Hindu holiday next year 

Nicolette White, Burlington County Times

• This upcoming school year over 20 New Jersey public schools districts will close on Diwali to observe the Hindu holiday in the fall. Now, the Hindu community is urging all districts including private-charter-independent schools in the state to close on their most popular festival.

West Essex Regional school board OKs budget, cuts late buses 

Kathy Shwiff, NJ Hills

• The West Essex Regional School District will eliminate the late buses starting in the fall, the Board of Education was told at its meeting Monday, May 2.

Once-struggling mom returns to Passaic agency that gave her a hand — this time as director 

Matt Fagan, NorthJersey.com

• When Janelle Hall was struggling and doing everything possible to keep her four children housed and fed, the United Passaic Organization was there to help with a “hand up.” She is now returning the favor as the newly appointed executive director of the 41-year-old community service organization.

Erika Halayko appointed as Atlantic County chief assistant prosecutor 

Nanette LoBiondo Galloway, Down Beach

• Erika Halayko has been promoted as the newest Chief Assistant Prosecutor at Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Cary Shill announced. “I have watched, for over a decade, as Chief Assistant Prosecutor Halayko has worked diligently in the pursuit of justice while serving in the litigation unit and then handling sexual assault cases in the Special Victim’s Unit, as well as, official misconduct and financial crimes cases,” Shill said.

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Three people, including two young children, were shot Wednesday evening in Newark while riding in a car with their mother, according to Newark Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara.

Officers were called to the area of Irvine Turner Boulevard and West Kinney Street for a report of shots fired and when they arrived, the found the 4-year-old, a 7-year-old and a 30-year-old man, who was also in the car, had been shot, O’Hara said.

They were all rushed to University Hospital for treatment, but their condition was unclear late Wednesday night. The department is “saddened and outraged” by the shooting, O’Hara said.

The shooter, who remained at large, was driving a car that had been stolen from Kearny, he said. The car was left unlocked with its key inside.

“We need people everywhere to stop leaving their cars unlocked with the key in them,” O’Hara said. “This kind of carelessness is repeatedly contributing to violence and enabling more serious harm to occur in our communities.”

The shooting remained under investigation late Wednesday night.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.

An inmate at a Monmouth County jail killed his cellmate after being mocked for defecating himself, according to prosecutors.

A criminal complaint said Evan Raczkiewicz, 29, killed his cellmate last month on Easter Sunday morning. He faces a reckless manslaughter charge.

Daniel Ferrara was on his work shift in the kitchen at 5:18 a.m., according to the complaint. It stated video surveillance caught Raczkiewicz coming up from behind Ferrara and fatally striking him on the back of his head.

Raczkiewicz appeared in court Tuesday for a detention hearing, reported the Asbury Park Press. During the hearing, Assistant Monmouth Couty Prosecutor Caitlin Sidley said the killing was Raczkiewicz’s response to an embarrassing situation.

Witnesses told investigators they had overheard a conversation between the cellmates the morning of Ferrara’s death, according to Sidley.

“The victim had been making fun of the defendant in front of others that morning about an incident that had happened prior in which the defendant had defecated in his pants the night before,” Sidley said, according to the APP.

“After striking the victim, the defendant reportedly said to another inmate that the victim should not be f—ing with him,’’ Sidley added.

Superior Court Judge Richard English ordered Raczkiewicz to be held without bail until his trial.

Prosecutors noted that Raczkiewicz was physically far larger than his cellmate. Raczkiewicz is six feet five inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, according to state Department of Corrections records. Ferrara was a 5-foot-8 man and weighed closer to 170 pounds.

Raczkiewicz was sentenced in March to three years in prison for firearms offenses. He was at the jail in Monmouth County for less than five weeks before Ferrara was found dead.

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An inmate at a Monmouth County jail killed his cellmate after being mocked for defecating himself, according to prosecutors.

A criminal complaint said Evan Raczkiewicz, 29, killed his cellmate last month on Easter Sunday morning. He faces a reckless manslaughter charge.

Daniel Ferrara was on his work shift in the kitchen at 5:18 a.m., according to the complaint. It stated video surveillance caught Raczkiewicz coming up from behind Ferrara and fatally striking him on the back of his head.

Raczkiewicz appeared in court Tuesday for a detention hearing, reported the Asbury Park Press. During the hearing, Assistant Monmouth Couty Prosecutor Caitlin Sidley said the killing was Raczkiewicz’s response to an embarrassing situation.

Witnesses told investigators they had overheard a conversation between the cellmates the morning of Ferrara’s death, according to Sidley.

“The victim had been making fun of the defendant in front of others that morning about an incident that had happened prior in which the defendant had defecated in his pants the night before,” Sidley said, according to the APP.

“After striking the victim, the defendant reportedly said to another inmate that the victim should not be f—ing with him,’’ Sidley added.

Superior Court Judge Richard English ordered Raczkiewicz to be held without bail until his trial.

Prosecutors noted that Raczkiewicz was physically far larger than his cellmate. Raczkiewicz is six feet five inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, according to state Department of Corrections records. Ferrara was a 5-foot-8 man and weighed closer to 170 pounds.

Raczkiewicz was sentenced in March to three years in prison for firearms offenses. He was at the jail in Monmouth County for less than five weeks before Ferrara was found dead.

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The Two Hundred Club of Essex County, which was founded in 1966 to assist the families of police and firefighters killed in the line of duty, and is the oldest such organization of its kind, hosts its 56th annual Valor Awards luncheon Tuesday, May 10, at Nanina’s in the Park, Belleville, and several local first responders will be honored.

The cocktail reception begins at 11:30 a.m. Tickets for the annual Two Hundred Club Valor Awards luncheon are available for purchase by calling (973) 694-4982.

Since its inception, The Two Hundred Club of Essex County has raised over $2 million to support the spouses of fallen officers and fund college scholarships for their children.

According to Lori A. Hennon-Bell, president of The Two Hundred Club, 28 police officers and 16 firefighters will be recognized for bravery, dedication to duty, courageous vigilance and selflessness at the luncheon.

“While everyone was at home working virtually for the past two years because of the pandemic, these fine police officers, firefighters and first responders did not have that luxury, they had to show up — the public expected them to show up, protect, and respond to their calls for service. Thankfully, and without regard to their own safety, they responded magnificently,” Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura, a member of The Two Hundred Club’s Board of Trustees, said.

Nominations for The Two Hundred Club’s Valor Awards are made by the chiefs of Essex County’s municipal police and fire departments and the commanding officers of federal, state and regional public safety agencies. Recipients are selected by The Two Hundred Club’s Executive Committee.

Since the Valor Awards were not awarded in 2020 due to the pandemic, this year’s awards will include actions taken in 2020 and 2021.

Among the local recipients are:

n Bloomfield Fire Department Firefighters Thomas Laicona and Jacob Nicolaou and Capt. David Parsons for jumping into about 5 feet of rapidly rising floodwaters, in full turnout gear, to rescue a victim stuck in a car that was within 6 inches of being fully submerged underwater, where the victim would not have survived had it not been for their swift thinking and actions.

Essex County Sheriff’s Sgt. Christopher Bozios, Det. Dominick Petrucci and Det. Erik Udvarhely, for their total disregard for their own safety when they chased, subdued and disarmed a driver and passenger in a stolen vehicle with weapons and monetary proceeds in the car from prior robberies.

Essex Sheriff’s Office Detectives Victor Brown and Habbaah Evans for using their keen observation to immediately intercede and thwart serious injury and potential loss of life due to a road rage incident involving weapons.

Nutley Fire Department Firefighter Vincent Lehman and Capt. William Vonroth for exemplifying extreme courage by going straight into the flow path to search for victims trapped due to a fire and saving a life.

Learn more about the writer …

Editor & Broadcaster at The Observer / West Hudson Publishing | + posts

Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, a place where he has served on and off since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on Facebook Live, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to West Hudson to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.

CAMDEN — A man who helped dupe dozens into sending millions of dollars to people posing as U.S. military personnel in an online dating scheme has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.

Rubbin Sarpong, 38, of Millville, New Jersey, must also pay more than $3 million in restitution to 36 victims under the sentence imposed Tuesday, as well as more than $385,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. He had pleaded guilty last November to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering and tax evasion counts.

Federal prosecutors say the scheme ran from January 2016 to September 2019. They say Sarpong and his co-conspirators, several of whom live in Ghana, set up phony profiles on online dating sites using fictitious or stolen identities and posing as U.S. military personnel.

They eventually pretended to forge romantic relationships with at least 40 victims overall and sought money from them, often purportedly to ship gold bars to the United States. The conspirators told many victims that their money would be returned once the gold bars were received in the United States, but instead it was withdrawn in cash, wired to other domestic bank accounts and to other conspirators in Ghana.

Sarpong received roughly $1.14 million in taxable income from the scheme but didn’t file income tax returns and paid no income tax, prosecutors said.

CAMDEN — A man who helped dupe dozens into sending millions of dollars to people posing as U.S. military personnel in an online dating scheme has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.

Rubbin Sarpong, 38, of Millville, New Jersey, must also pay more than $3 million in restitution to 36 victims under the sentence imposed Tuesday, as well as more than $385,000 to the Internal Revenue Service. He had pleaded guilty last November to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering and tax evasion counts.

Federal prosecutors say the scheme ran from January 2016 to September 2019. They say Sarpong and his co-conspirators, several of whom live in Ghana, set up phony profiles on online dating sites using fictitious or stolen identities and posing as U.S. military personnel.

They eventually pretended to forge romantic relationships with at least 40 victims overall and sought money from them, often purportedly to ship gold bars to the United States. The conspirators told many victims that their money would be returned once the gold bars were received in the United States, but instead it was withdrawn in cash, wired to other domestic bank accounts and to other conspirators in Ghana.

Sarpong received roughly $1.14 million in taxable income from the scheme but didn’t file income tax returns and paid no income tax, prosecutors said.

We come bearing some potential good news for parents, grandparents and New Jerseyans at large who have concerns about the very graphic sex education curriculum that has been proposed by the New Jersey state department of education.

We have received a copy of the letter that was penned yesterday by the following leaders of the New Jersey state board of education as follows:

Andrew Mulvihill, Vice President, New Jersey State Board of Education.

Mary Beth Berry, Member, New Jersey State Board of Education.

Mary Elizabeth Gazi, Member, New Jersey State Board of Education.

Mr. Jack A. Fornaro, Member, New Jersey State Board of Education.

Their joint letter is dated yesterday, May 3, 2022, sent to Angelica Allen-McMillan, Ed. D., Acting Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education.

The letter was sent just in time to have a potential positive impact in anticipation of today’s public meeting, set to begin at 10:00 a.m.

The letter begins:

Dear Commissioner:

“As you know there has been tremendous push back from the parents of New Jersey’s school children to the soon to be implemented 2020 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Comprehensive Health & Physical Education commonly known as the Sex Ed standards. On April 13th, the Governor asked The Department of Education to review the standards and provide further clarification on what age-appropriate guidelines look like for our students,”

The letter continues to outline concerns that parents and others have and calls for the Commissioner to be willing to assemble a group from a wide-spectrum of observation … a “committee of experts, educators, parents and various stakeholders,” they wrote.

The authors of this letter state that they were encouraged by the April 14th memo of clarification, but, they write “while this is a good start, we believe a more robust review is warranted.”

The public meeting is today and we’ll keep you updated as warranted.

SOURCE: New Jersey Board of Education letter.

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