RELEASE: April, 2001

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When house hunting, we hire a realtor. When shopping for a new car, we rely on Consumer Reports. Even when picking out the best blender, many of us log onto the Internet to research our options.

Shopping for child care should be a parent’s most important research mission - and yet many parents have had no way to compare and research their options.

Under Gov. Christie Whitman’s administration, the availability and quality of child care has improved in New Jersey and parents now have more choices. And the State of New Jersey is here to help find and research those choices.

Parents now have a single toll-free number (1-800-332-9227) to call to help them on their way to finding quality child care in their area. The new child care hotline will determine the location of the caller and automatically route the call to the state’s child care resource and referral agency in their area.

We will provide information about child care centers and registered family day care providers. Parents also can find out how to check licensing inspection reports for centers they are considering.

By calling 1-800-332-9227, parents can also get a copy of our new brochure "Choosing Quality Child Care," which defines types of child care and offers tips on what to look for in a center or home setting.

The Governor’s proposed Fiscal Year 2001 budget continues her commitment to making quality child care available to all of New Jersey’s children. Among the new initiatives is the dedication of $7.8 million to pay for the fingerprinting and criminal history background checks of all child care center employees. She added another $4.5 million to the $228 million we already spend to subsidize child care for low-income working families. And, for the first time in New Jersey, money will be dedicated to paying for child care for working grandparents and other kin raising their young relatives.

Throughout her term, Gov. Whitman’s goal has been to make New Jersey a better place to live, work and raise a family. But parents cannot do any of those things without a generous supply of quality child care.

Among the Governor's major initiatives for improving child care during her term are:

• Bright Beginnings - a nationally-lauded $8.5 million effort to create 8,500 new child care slots, increase the number of registered child care providers and offer professional development to these providers;

• Family Friendly Centers - a $2.5 million initiative to provide grants of up to $50,000 to 50 schools to develop centers where children can study and play until their parents return from work;

• Increased Child Care Inspections - a change in state licensing regulations of child care centers so that inspections are done annually rather than once every three years;

• Bright Beginnings II - an effort dedicating $12 million to the state's largest municipalities to expand child care slots through major and minor renovations and new construction, as well as to improve child care through professional development and new equipment.

Although choosing child care can be an overwhelming task, I am confident parents will feel better leaving their children in the morning when they have carefully researched their options and made informed choices.