More than 2 million women have left the workforce since the beginning of the pandemic. A major hurdle to their return is the lack of affordable childcare. It’s a nationwide problem but federal assistance funds have been available since March 2021, including $694 million in American Rescue Plan aid for struggling child care centers in New Jersey.
And what has the Garden State been doing for the last seven months? Not only sitting on the aid but failing to indicate when it will become available or how to apply for it. We’re told that the Department of Human Services is “gathering input from parents, childcare providers and other stakeholders.”