Building a Data Dashboard for Child Care in New Jersey
A Concept Paper
November 10, 2025
This concept paper outlines a proposed data-dashboard for the mixed-delivery early care and education system in New Jersey, designed to provide real‐time insights on child-care supply, parental demand, workforce capacity, costs, and affordability. The study draws on data from licensed and exempt care settings, parental surveys, and state administrative sources. The goal is to present a replicable methodology and interactive interface to support decision-making by state agencies, providers, researchers, and other stakeholders.
Key Highlights
- Provides a framework for monitoring child-care supply and demand across the state.
- Incorporates parental preferences, workforce characteristics, and cost/affordability metrics.
- Emphasizes real-time data visualization via an interactive dashboard interface.
- Designed to support strategic planning, policy analysis, and investment decisions in New Jersey’s child-care sector.
- Includes guidance for replicability and scalability beyond the baseline years.
The Authors
Karin Garver is an Early Childhood Education Policy Specialist at NIEER. Her research interests are in national and state early education policy trends, inclusive opportunities for preschool children with disabilities, data systems, systems integration, and public program finance.
W. Steven (Steve) Barnett is a Board of Governors Professor and the founder and Senior Co-Director of the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University. Dr. Barnett’s work primarily focuses on public policies regarding early childhood education, child care, and child development.
About NIEER
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, conducts and disseminates independent research and analysis to inform early childhood education policy.
Suggested Citation
Suggested citation: Garver, K., & Barnett, W.S. (2025). Building a Data Dashboard for Child Care in New Jersey. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Education Research.
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