NEWARK, NJ — Despite improved outcomes on a number of measures of child well-being, far too few New Jersey third graders are meeting proficiency in reading, a critical milestone when students begin to read to learn, rather than learn to read. Access to quality early care and education can help lay the foundation for academic gains, but only when there is strong alignment between preschool and early elementary grades along with a robust system that supports families and the early learning workforce, according to Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ).

Its latest data publication, NJ Kids Count 2024: The State of Our Counties, provides a snapshot of how children are faring in the Garden State and among its 21 counties. The data report provides 63 measures of child well-being in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child protection, child care, education, and teens.

View NJ Kids Count 2024: The State of Our Counties (https://acnj.org/new-jersey-kids-count-county-pocket-guide-2024/)

“As we rebound from the effects of pandemic learning loss, we also see a substantial increase in enrollment in state-funded preschool, as part of Governor Phil Murphy’s push for pre-K expansion,” said Mary Coogan, ACNJ president and CEO. “We know that New Jersey’s public preschool programs are a national model for high-quality and effective early education, but it’s important that we sustain these gains and support a system that encompasses all aspects of early childhood education. This includes ensuring strong partnerships between community child care providers and school districts.”

More than half of New Jersey third graders scored below proficiency in math and reading in the state’s Student Learning Assessments during the 2022-23 school year. When broken down by county and race, data reveal pervasive disparities. Only 17% of Cumberland County third graders were at or above proficiency in reading compared to Bergen County’s 60%. Statewide, Black and Hispanic students fell behind their peers with less than a third meeting proficiency in third grade reading and math.

The data related to child protection cases shows that of the 98,583 cases reported to the child abuse hotline in 2023, only 2,641 or 3% were substantiated or established cases of abuse/neglect.

“This raises the question, are families being inappropriately reported to child protective services? Many of these families need and want help, but their troubles are related to poverty, not neglect. We need to do better in providing help through coordinated services outside of child protective services,” said Coogan who also co-chairs the NJ Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Despite an 8% increase in median family income amounting to $120,874, families in the Garden State still struggle to keep up with the cost of living with half of all New Jersey families spending 30% or more than of their income on rent and nearly 200,000 children estimated to be food insecure.

“As families increasingly continue to struggle, it is more important than ever for community organizations to work together to ensure resources are available. Kids Count provides the data to hone in on what communities need,” said Coogan. “We are eager to partner with concerned residents and advocacy groups to facilitate community conversations as they develop solutions to address the issues affecting children in their backyard.”

Numbers at a Glance
Demographics

New Jersey is home to nearly two million children and one in four are under the age of 5.
Essex County has the largest child population with 197,954 children under 18 years of age.
In five counties, more than 40% of children speak a language other than English at home: Bergen (42%), Hudson (55%), Middlesex (46%), Passaic (51%), and Union (47%).
Family Economic Security

New Jersey’s median family income with children is $120,874. Morris and Somerset have the greatest estimated median family income with children of more than $185,000, in steep contrast to Cumberland’s median family income of roughly $62,000.
The state unemployment rate was 3.7% in 2022.
Roughly 197,280 children in New Jersey were estimated to be food insecure in 2021.
In 2023, 19,784 children lived in families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), more commonly referred to as welfare. The program provides cash assistance to needy families through a federally funded block grant given to individual states.
In October 2023, of students participating in free or reduced-priced lunch, only 58% were also participating in free or reduced-priced breakfast.
Child Health

In 2021, 75% of expectant mothers received early prenatal care.
The infant mortality rate, the rate at which a baby dies before their first birthday, was 4.0 for every 1,000 live births from 2017 through 2021. Data disaggregated by race shows the infant mortality rate for Black babies to be more than double at 8.7 per 1,000 births.
NJ FamilyCare recipients under age 19 continue to grow for the state by 6% between 2022 and 2023.

Child Protection

In 2023, only 3% of the 98,583 children reported to the state child abuse hotline were found to be substantiated or established cases of abuse/neglect.
Of the 3,000 children living in foster care, there remains an over-representation of Black children in out-of-home placement at 41% compared to Hispanic and White children at 25% and 27%, respectively.

Child Care

In 2023, New Jersey had roughly 4,000 licensed child care centers, with the largest number of centers located in Bergen (430) and Essex (480)
The number of registered family child care providers -those who care for children in their own homes – increased 11% between 2021 and 2023 with 1,317 statewide. Middlesex County saw the highest jump from 81 providers in 2021 to 129 in 2023.
Education

During the 2022-23 school year, 58,387 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in state-funded public preschool.
In 2022, about 44% of the state population age 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher. The counties where more than half of the population ages 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher are Somerset (59%), Morris (59%), Hunterdon (59%), Bergen (52%), and Monmouth (52%).
For the 2022-23 school year, the percentage of third graders meeting or exceeding expectations on the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments was 42% for English Language Arts and 46% for Mathematics. A closer look at the data shows wide disparities in proficiency among counties, ranging from a high of 60% (Bergen) and 58% (Morris) to a low of 17% (Cumberland) and 24% (Atlantic) in English Language Arts.
Teens

Births to adolescents and teens ages 10-19 remain at 2%. Cumberland had 6% of its total births to adolescents and teens.
Five percent of NJ teens, ages 16-19, are not working or in school according to 2018-2022 five-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates. Cumberland is estimated to have 15% of its teens not working or in school.

ABOUT ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN OF NEW JERSEY (ACNJ)
Advocates for Children of New Jersey is the trusted, independent voice putting children’s needs first for 45 years. Our work results in better laws and policies, more effective funding and stronger services for children and families. And it means that more children are given the chance to grow up safe, healthy, and educated. For more information, visit www.acnj.org.

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