RELEASE: October 13, 2001

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The New Jersey Child Care Advisory Council (CCAC) will honor Beverly Lynn of Hillside with its Aletha Wright Award for Excellence in Child Care and Early Education at its annual meeting October 18.

The Council established the award in 1994 to honor Aletha Wright, a revered child-care advocate from Camden who died that year. The award acknowledges individuals who have made outstanding contributions to early care and education for children in New Jersey.

Lynn earned the CCAC award this year because she has been instrumental in launching innovative child-care programs through her expertise in funding sources, financial regulations and public/private enterprises.

As the child care administrator in the Division of Family Development (DFD) of the Department of Human Services since 1997, Lynn has helped develop policy for funding and federal child care reimbursement. She has initiated a quality improvement program for infant/toddler care, a health consultant coordinator program, a scholarship program for child-care staff, an accreditation assistance program for family child-care providers, a low-interest child-care loan program, a professional development and business management program for child-care center directors and a public relations campaign for parent education.

Prior to her work with child-care funding, Lynn served in several roles with Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) child-care programs serving abused and neglected children. She later managed the Essex County Office for Children and supervised two county-operated child-care centers.

Lynn has also taught classes on child-care topics for the last eight years as an adjunct instructor at Essex County College.

"Her depth of experience, as well as her sensitivity and commitment to children and families, make her an asset to the early care and education community," said Tom Zsiga, CCAC chairperson.

The Council will also posthumously honor Annette "Tony" O’Flaherty, the 1997 recipient of the Aletha Wright award, who died earlier this year. She was best known in both New Jersey and Washington, D.C. for her knowledge of the social and economic needs of children and for skills in advocacy that influences policy development. To honor her, the Council will present her family with a memorial book at its annual meeting.

The late Aletha Wright served as a charter member of the New Jersey Child Care Advisory Council and as director of the Office of Child Care Development at the New Jersey Department of Human Service s (DHS). She later served as assistant director at DFD and worked in the Governor’s Office of Policy and Planning. In 1993, Ms. Wright was elected to the Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Lynn is the sixth recipient of the award.