Lily Laux, Ph.D., Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education, and Evan Delgado, the Turrell Fund's President for Programs and Planning, are the keynote speakers for a statewide conference on New Jersey childcare policy issues, ranging from early childhood education to support for the childcare workforce to to paid family and medical leave.

 

"Child care is the workforce behind the workforce — when families can't access affordable, reliable care, the ripple effects touch employers, schools, and the state's entire economy," said Elaine Zundl, Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of the Master of Public Policy program at Rowan University. "This conference brings together the researchers, agency leaders, and advocates who are working on every piece of this puzzle, from pre-K expansion to workforce support, so we can have an honest conversation about what it will actually take to build a system that works for New Jersey families.”

 

The conference is sponsored by Rowan University's Sweeney Center, Political Science & Economics Department, and School of Social Work, all part of the Ric Edelman College of Communication, Humanities and Social Science, and by the Early Childhood Leadership Institute of Rowan's College of Education. Attendance is free, and breakfast and lunch are included. To register for the conference, click here. 

 

In addition to Laux and Delgado, conference speakers include: 

• • W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University;
  • Brian Ross, Esq., Assistant Commissioner, Policy, Oversight, and Regulatory Affairs, New Jersey Department of Children and Families;
  • Katrina T. McCombs, MA.ED, MPA, Assistant Commissioner of Education, Division of Early Childhood Services, New Jersey Department of Education;
  • Steve Sweeney, Gloucester County Administrator and former New Jersey Senate President;
  • Andrea J. Breitwieser, Assistant Director, Division of Family Development, NJ Department of Human Services;
  • Tonya Coston, Ed.D., Manager, Division of Workforce, NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development;
  • Joan Dillon, Executive Director, Glassboro Child Development Centers;
  • Bonnie Eggenburg, President Region II Head Start Association, Vice President of Gateway Community Action Partnerships;
  • Zeynep I. Ercan, Ph.D., Professor of Early Childhood Education and Co-Director, Early Childhood Leadership Institute (ECLI), Rowan University;
  • Sharon Levine, Campaign Director, NJ Start Strong; 
  • Liana Lin, Research Project Manager, Bloustein Center for Workforce Development, Rutgers University;
  • Becky Logue-Conroy, Ph.D., Research Analyst, Center for Women and Work, Rutgers University;
  • Milagros Nores, Ph.D, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University;
  • Christina Stephens, Ph.D., National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers University;
  • Meghan Tavormina, Director of Public Policy & Advocacy, at New Jersey Association for the Education of Young Children

Deb Lancaster, Executive Director, Center for Women and Work, Rutgers University; Mark Magyar, Director, Sweeney Center for Public Policy; and Yarrow Willman-Cole, Workplace Justice Coordinator, NJ Citizen Action, and Zundl.

"New Jersey has a robust history of leadership in childcare policy, promoting quality early childhood education, leading the way on paid family and medical leave, and funding the childcare workforce," said Magyar. "Investments by the new Sherrill administration, along with initiatives by the Mamdani administration in New York City, signal a renewed focus on rebuilding a childcare system that never bounced back after the COVID-19 pandemic. New Jersey also just passed legislation expanding its paid leave policy to more workers, making this an opportune time for a major Rowan policy conference addressing these issues,"

If you have questions or if your organization would like to reserve a table for outreach materials, please    email Elaine Zundl at zundl@rowan.edu or Mark Magyar at magyarm@rowan.edu. To register for the conference, click here.