New Jersey business and advocacy leaders are calling on the state’s next governor to prioritize affordable childcare, citing its importance for families and the broader economy.
In an op-ed published in BINJE ahead of Election Day, Michele Siekerka, President & CEO of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), and Reshma Saujani, Founder & CEO of Moms First, highlighted that annual childcare costs for two children in New Jersey have surpassed $26,000. This amount exceeds what many families pay for their mortgage or tuition at Rutgers University.
“Childcare is one of the biggest drivers of unaffordability in the state, and it’s quietly constraining New Jersey’s growth,” Siekerka and Saujani said. “The state loses $3.6 billion each year in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue because parents, primarily mothers, can’t find or afford care.”
Siekerka and Saujani outlined three policy recommendations for addressing childcare affordability:
First, they called for stabilizing the workforce. They noted that childcare educators in New Jersey are more than twice as likely as other workers to live in poverty. They recommended ensuring all childcare educators qualify for assistance programs, expanding training opportunities, including them in loan forgiveness initiatives like Pay It Forward NJ, and providing competitive compensation supported by public funds and targeted tax credits.
Second, they suggested modernizing preschool expansion through a mixed-delivery model that includes both school-based programs and licensed community providers. This approach would use public funds to support a range of providers to increase capacity and maintain small businesses while giving parents more choices.
Third, they advocated incentivizing business participation by enacting a tax credit for employer-provided childcare. Such incentives would reward companies that offer on-site care or partnerships with local centers or provide direct stipends to employees.
Additional information about these recommendations can be found on NJBIA’s Blueprint Minute video series.
