Official Site of The State of New Jersey

June 16, 2026

TRENTON – The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has awarded $3 million in grants through the fifth round of the Cultivating Access, Rights, and Equity (CARE) program to 31 organizations and collaboratives.
 
Launched in March 2022, the CARE grant funds outreach, education, and technical assistance to increase equitable access to New Jersey’s worker benefits and protections. Since its launch, CARE grantees have made direct contact with almost 300,000 workers, counseling thousands of workers to help them secure the benefits and rights they are entitled to under the law. Grantees have also reached more than 9,800 employers with information on their obligations and compliance. 
 
This year’s funding covers paid family and medical leave, Unemployment Insurance, and work rights, including Earned Sick Leave, minimum wage, overtime, wage theft, misclassification, the Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights, and the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights.
 
“The partnerships NJDOL has built through the CARE grant program demonstrates our commitment to making it a reality that every New Jersey worker knows their work rights and how to exercise these rights in every community across our state,” said Acting Commissioner Jarvis. “By working with trusted organizations, we are able to further our outreach and connect even more Garden State workers and families with the benefits and protections they deserve.”
 
Awardees include community organizations, worker centers, social service providers, professional associations, libraries, maternal health programs, and faith-based groups that have demonstrated their ability to provide community-centered, culturally relevant, and language-specific programming for residents in historically underserved communities and small businesses with critical government programs and services. 
 
The CARE grant program aims to reach workers to increase their awareness, understanding, and ability to access their work rights and benefits. These communities include low-wage workers, people of color, immigrants, women, refugees, survivors of domestic/sexual violence, and young workers. This program also funds outreach and education to small and immigrant-owned businesses, as well as other employers that need resources and information about the state’s labor laws and programs to ensure compliance. 
 
Grantees will build the capacity of their staff through NJDOL training sessions, engaging in outreach at community events, providing one-on-one counseling and application assistance to workers, conducting presentations and training programs, running social media and text campaigns, user-testing of NJDOL tools and forms, and more. 
 
Several organizations received funding to provide navigator services for paid family and medical leave. These partners will provide one-on-one support to workers and families to help them estimate their eligibility, apply, and plan their leave. 
 
“During pregnancy, it can be difficult to navigate work benefits and plan for the arrival of your baby. Paid leave navigation services will provide families with vital support and guidance throughout their parenting journey, ensuring they fully utilize the benefits available to them. We appreciate this outstanding opportunity from the New Jersey Department of Labor,” said Emily Haines, Chief Nursing Officer at the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern NJ. 
 
“We are honored to partner with the New Jersey Department of Labor and our community partners to expand access to critical information about workers’ rights,” added Jesselly De La Cruz, Executive Director of the Latino Action Network Foundation. “This investment allows us to reach historically underserved communities with culturally and linguistically responsive education, ensuring workers have the tools and knowledge to advocate for themselves and their families. Together, we are building pathways to greater equity, protection, and opportunity in the workforce.”
 
Learn more about the CARE grant program at www.nj.gov/labor/care.
 
The complete list of 2026-2027 grantees is below:

Cultivating Access, Rights, and Equity (CARE)
Collaboratives
Lead Organization	Partner Organizations	Counties Served	Amount
New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence	Resource Center, Exhale Women's Fellowship, Harambe Social Service, Wafa House	Statewide	$125,000
New Jersey Citizen Action Education Fund	Laundry Workers Center, Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, Wind of the Spirit	Statewide	$120,000
Lakewood Resource & Referral Center	STEPS	Monmouth, Ocean	$115,000
CATA	Allies in Caring, Revive South Jersey, PRAC	Atlantic, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem	$100,000
Latino Action Network Foundation	Casa Freehold, Resistencia en Acción, Lazos America Unida	Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth	$80,000

Cultivating Access, Rights, and Equity (CARE)
Single Organizations
Organization	Counties Served	Amount
Family Health Initiatives	Statewide	$135,000
Church World Service Jersey City	Statewide	$125,000
Norwescap	Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Warren	$115,000
Ironbound Community Corp.	Essex	$100,000
Make the Road	Essex, Middlesex, Passaic, Union	$100,000
VietLead	Camden	$100,000
Perinatal Health Equity Initiative	Essex, Passaic, Union	$90,000
South Ward Promise Neighborhood	Essex	$80,000
Rise	Mercer, Middlesex	$80,000
Jefferson Park Ministries	Essex, Union	$70,000
Legal Services of New Jersey	Statewide	$7,000
Immigration and American Citizenship Organization	Statewide	$70,000
Second Street Youth Center Foundation	Union	$70,000
CEUS	Hudson	$70,000
CUMAC/ECHO	Passaic	$70,000
Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund	Mercer	$65,000
New Labor	Camden, Essex, Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, Union, Warren	$65,000
Family Support Organization	Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem	$55,000
Employers Association of New Jersey	Statewide	$55,000
HOPES Community Action Partnership	Hudson, Somerset, Union	$50,000
AAPI New Jersey	Statewide	$50,000
The Children's Home Society of New Jersey	Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean	$50,000
Trenton Health Team	Mercer	$50,000
Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey	Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union, Warren	$50,000
The Hoboken Public Library	Hudson	$25,000

Cultivating Access, Rights, and Equity (CARE)
Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights funding
Lead Organization	Partner Organizations (if applicable)	Counties Served	Amount
National Domestic Workers Alliance	Adhikaar, Casa Freehold, Lazos America Unida, New Labor, Resistencia en Acción, Hand in Hand	Statewide	$420,000
New Jersey Citizen Action Education Fund	Laundry Workers Center, Wind of the Spirit	Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union, Warren	$60,000
Jefferson Park Ministries		Essex, Union	$55,000
Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund		Mercer	$35,000
Legal Services of New Jersey		Statewide	$30,000

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