(TRENTON) –Speaker Craig J. Coughlin (D-Middlesex) issued the following statement after the full Assembly voted 74-0-0, and the Senate 40-0, on Thursday giving final legislative approval on a bill (A-5863) to assist child-care centers with salaries, equipment, capital improvements, and technical assistance:
“Working families in our state rely on access to high-quality, affordable, and developmentally appropriate child care. And, thousands of child care workers depend on our state’s child-care centers to support themselves and their families.
“The pandemic unfortunately took a great toll on our state’s more than 5,000 child-care providers, whose responsibility in caring for working families’ children continues to be critical in helping people remain in and return to the workforce, especially our working mothers.
“This bill we passed today makes use of American Rescue Plan aid to invest in the revitalization and expansion of our state’s childcare centers ensuring they can continue to operate, reopen, and support working families.”