Introduction
New Jersey’s youngest children and their families depend on an under-funded system of care with widely varying quality. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems by reducing families’ ability to pay while also increasing costs. This report uses the Office of Child Care’s Provider Cost of Quality Calculator (PCQC)[i] to estimate the costs of enhanced supports for infant and toddler care that address these problems. These estimates show that existing subsidy rates need to increase substantially to meet the needs of young children and their families. Increasing rates may be more feasible than ever with strong current and proposed federal support efforts.
[i] Office of Child Care. (n.d.) Provider cost of quality calculator. Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved on February 4, 2021 from https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/pcqc
ITC_Exploring_the_Cost_of_High-Quality_Infant_and_Toddler_Care_in_New_Jersey