Dear Mayor:

We would like to announce that the New Jersey State League of Municipalities will be partnering with the New Jersey Child Care Economic Impact Council (the Council) to building partnerships around the issues of early learning as it impacts the present and future workforce based on the study released in February 2006 entitled, “Benefits for All: The Economic Impact of the New Jersey Child Care Industry Infant/Toddler, Preschool, and Out of School-Time Programs”. A link to the executive summary (PDF) and the full report (PDF) is available on the League’s website under issues and alerts.

The Council was established in August 2004 to commission the study and hired the National Economic Development & Law Center from Oakland, California to conduct the research. The John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy of Thomas Edison State College is the lead agency for the project and has provided the leadership, coordination, and fund development for Phase I. The Council’s primary goal during Phase II is to share the findings of the study with multiple audiences to create new partnerships that will build new policy paradigms to support the present and future workforce of New Jersey.

The New Jersey Child Care Economic Impact Study shows that child care benefits all industries in New Jersey:

• By enabling parents to work productively outside of the home and/or participate in training and education programs. It also provides working parents with economic opportunities that lead to self-sufficiency and participation in the economic growth of the state.
  
  
• Longitudinal studies show that high-quality programs particularly for low-income children provide significant economic gains and decreased public expenditures on special education, delinquency, adult incarceration, health care and social services. This increases the quality of life of communities and reduces government spending.
  
  
• The child care industry is a significant economic driver for New Jersey because it generates $2.55 billion in gross receipts, supports more than 65,300 full-time jobs, and serves 378,000 children at any given time.

As a result of this partnership, we are seeking volunteers to serve on an exploratory subcommittee that will examine strategies that include incorporating child care industry within local government in the areas of child care facilities, zoning, policy action (child care as safe haven for families), economic development, sharing of resources, and funding.

Your support as a champion for children will strengthen the efforts of the child care industry as it provides viable services that are integral to family and economic life in New Jersey.

Sincerely,