Annual Report 2019-2020

Dear ECEA Supporter:

Let me begin by saying “Thank You.” When we formed ECEA last year, it was designed as a unified, non-partisan voice for the childcare industry in Trenton. It was created to be an advocate for sane, smart policy and to ensure that the 87,000 people who work in childcare in New Jersey will always have a strong, solid job.

Then, the pandemic hit. Our industry has been turned on its side. Rather than simply lobbying for better laws to enhance our industry, we are now fighting for survival.  More than 4,000 childcare centers across the state are desperate to open their doors to full capacity, to ensure safety of children and staff and to carve out a slight profit to keep their businesses afloat through these challenging months of uncertainty.

At the ECEA, we are in triage. With daily support from our lobbying firm, we are squarely focused on proposed laws in Trenton that give the private childcare industry a fair shot at survival and, ultimately, stability. There is no question we are an “essential service.” We need to exist if there is any chance for the state’s tattered economy to rebound.

I could go on about challenges. But when I look back at the brief history of the ECEA, it is amazing how much we have accomplished. We are a powerful, informed voice in Trenton, as well as in the statewide media. We have given the childcare industry a critical voice when it is needed the most in communicating with legislators, regulators and news reporters.

It is why our non-profit organization must continue and why we need the financial support of those who rely on the childcare industry to earn a living. It is my hope that once you read this laundry list of successes that you will donate meaningfully to our collective mission at ECEAdvocates.com.   

Please review this quick synopsis:

• Teddy Bear Bill

The ECEA was formed in response to this 2019 legislation that would allow public school districts across the state to open their own childcare centers – a plan that would have likely decimated the private sector. The ECEA argued that such a bill creates a grossly unleveled playing field, while also raising critical questions about safety, adequate facilities and the ability of public schools to provide such specialized care.  Through ECEA’s ongoing advocacy, media coverage and testimony in front of key legislative committees, the so-called Teddy Bear Bill underwent a series of amendments, ultimately reducing the law to a small pilot project affecting a handful of school districts.

• A Consistent Presence in Trenton

Before the ECEA was formed, the state’s childcare industry did not have a unified, ever-present voice in Trenton, able to instantly educate state lawmakers about proposed legislation detrimental to the industry and the countless families in New Jersey who rely on it. For example, ECEA members testified twice before the state Assembly’s Women and Children Committee about the survival of the industry under COVID-19. 

Other ECEA members testified in front of the Senate Fiscal Recovery Committee in June, appealing to legislative leadership about the desperate need for childcare centers to reopen. Within a day of the committee hearing in which ECEA members were panelists, Gov. Phil Murphy announced the reopening of the childcare industry.

• Media Advocacy

The ECEA has found a sympathetic ear among New Jersey’s media, which has continually published essays from ECEA members about the many pressing issues affecting our industry in 2020. Opinion-Editorials have appeared in the state’s largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger, as well as its statewide digital platform, NJ.com. Other tremendous resources have been statewide business publications, such as NJBiz and ROI-NJ, as well as the state’s largest hyperlocal news platform, TAPInto.net. Pieces have also run on the Gannett news network, as we have worked to engage the media at all levels as a proven strategy to inform and motivate state lawmakers as well as the public at-large. 

• An Ever-Present Voice

The ECEA has been everywhere state lawmakers tend to be. That includes the annual “Walk to Washington” train trip in March, the New Jersey League of Municipalities conference in November and any relevant political fundraisers where we can have casual, one-on-one conversations with key decision makers in Trenton. The ECEA is also an active member of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, focused on the state’s reopening, as we participate in subcommittees regarding Workers Comp, Minimum Wage and Business Liability.

• An Informational Hub

The entire childcare industry, as well as the public at-large, is now turning to the ECEA for the latest information. We have discussed, debated and drafted numerous position papers to provide decision makers with a road map for reopening the state’s child care centers. We are well informed and consistent in our messaging, developing important pieces on such pressing topics as center safety, Universal Pre-K and the critical role that childcare plays in the state’s economy.

Our position papers are carefully drafted from the daily monitoring of state legislation, regulation and the governor’s Executive Orders, and how it all impacts the childcare industry. That includes, for example, the mandatory testing of child care employees, COVID-related safety requirements, the federal CARES Act and how federal money flows eventually to New Jersey’s small businesses. We also pull information from the State Board of Education, as we examine new, ever-changing policies regarding childcare.

As you can see, we are tremendously proud of our work, to date. The ECEA has developed a tremendous infrastructure of knowledgable industry volunteers, as well as lobbying and public relations strategists with specific expertise in our industry. We have proved our ability to be the effective voice of the childcare industry, but we need your help to continue.

So, please visit ECEAdvocates.com and make a donation through the portal. Typical donors provide between $500 and $1,000 a year, which will help us ensure our industry has a substantial voice when the state Legislature resumes debates this summer and fall about the future of childcare.

We must keep our well-earned seat at the table – to survive.

Sincerely,

Guy Falzarano

ECEA President