State of New Jersey
Executive Order #117

Governor James E. McGreevey

WHEREAS, in order to succeed, children can benefit from additional opportunities for learning and enrichment beyond that which can be provided during the regular school day; and

WHEREAS, working parents need safe, affordable, and accessible child care options; and

WHEREAS, research has shown that school-age children are at great risk during the after-school hours of between 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., in that children who spend these after-school hours unsupervised are at an increased risk for engaging in delinquency, substance abuse, and other destructive behaviors; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey After 3, Inc., a private, non-profit organization, has been established to develop, enhance, provide, and sustain a comprehensive system of quality after-school programs that promote the health, emotional, social, and intellectual development of New Jersey children during after-school hours; and

WHEREAS, New Jersey After 3, Inc. seeks to form a partnership with the State of New Jersey and the private sector to ensure the availability and accessibility of quality after-school programs in the State of New Jersey; and

WHEREAS, it is in the public interest for the State of New Jersey to cooperate with and assist New Jersey After 3, Inc. and non-profit entities with similar purposes in their efforts, the State of New Jersey seeks to cooperate with and assist New Jersey After 3, Inc. in its efforts to strengthen and expand quality after-school programs throughout the State of New Jersey; and

WHEREAS, the citizens of the State of New Jersey would benefit from an increase in, and the enhancement of, after-school programs in the State that provide safe places for children to spend their after-school hours while their parents are working, an opportunity for children to participate in activities that will enrich their educational experience and enhance their overall development, caring adults to nurture, mentor, and guide children, and a resource for children to obtain help in reviewing their class work and completing their homework, additional support and time to build their English skills, if they are English language learners, and increased access to libraries, art materials, musical instruments, science labs, and gyms;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES E. MCGREEVEY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:

  1. There is created in, but not of, the Department of Education, the New Jersey After 3 Advisory Committee (the "Committee").

  2. The Committee is charged to the extent permitted by law with cooperating with and assisting New Jersey After 3, Inc. in furthering its efforts to strengthen and expand quality after-school programs in New Jersey. The Committee shall also periodically advise the Governor of the progress made in strengthening and expanding quality after-school programs in New Jersey.

  3. The Committee shall be composed of the following members, all of whom shall serve ex-officio:

    1. The Commissioner of Education, or a designee;
    2. The State Treasurer, or a designee;
    3. The Commissioner of Human Services, or a designee;
    4. The Counselor to the Governor, or a designee;
    5. The Director of the Office of Program Support Services at the Department of Education;
    6. The Attorney General, or a designee.

  4. The Commissioner of Education shall serve as Chair of the Committee, and shall appoint a Vice-Chair from among the members of the Committee. The Chair may appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the Committee.

  5. The Committee shall organize and meet as soon as possible after its formation and may hold joint meetings with New Jersey After 3, Inc.

  6. The Committee is authorized to call upon any department, office, division or agency of this State to supply it with the data and other information, personnel or assistance it deems necessary to discharge its duties under this Order. Each department, office, division or agency is hereby directed, to the extent not inconsistent with the law, to furnish it with such information, personnel and assistance as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Order.

  7. This Order shall take effect immediately.

GIVEN, under my hand and seal this 25th day
of June in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand
and Four, and of the Independence of the United
States, the Two Hundred and Twenty-Eighth.

/s/ James E. McGreevey
Governor
[seal]

Attest:

/s/ Michael R. DeCotiis
Chief Counsel to the Governor