MORRIS COUNTY — Rep. Mikie Sherrill, (NJ-11) and New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy joined United Way of Northern New Jersey and its early education partners today to kick off a recruitment drive for home-based child care providers in District 11 to join a new initiative working to reverse the state’s child care deserts.

United Way recently received $1.1 million from Congress for their pilot program United In Care, which seeks to increase access to quality, affordable, and flexible child care for all New Jersey families, beginning with those living paycheck to paycheck, called ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).

“Thanks to Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill, First Lady Tammy Murphy, and our partners, we are excited to bring United In Care to the children, families, and providers of District 11,” said United Way of Northern New Jersey CEO Kiran Handa Gaudioso. “High quality, affordable and flexible child care for all working parents is absolutely critical to our state’s economic recovery.”

“As a working mom of four kids, I know that the lack of access to affordable, high-quality child care isn’t just a family problem, it’s an economic problem,” said Rep. Sherrill. “Too many moms have left the workforce and too many child care providers struggle with earning enough to survive. That’s why it’s important that we find ways to fund projects like United In Care that have immediate impacts on our local communities and address the problems head-on. I am proud to have brought direct federal funding to this program to help rebuild our child care sector. Thank you to the First Lady and United Way of Northern New Jersey for all your work on this issue.”

According to United Way’s research, 37% of the nearly 22,000 families with children in District 11 were considered ALICE or in poverty and struggled to afford basics pre-pandemic.

United In Care has been working to get the building blocks in place to create an alliance of child care providers within District 11, which spans parts of Essex, Morris, Passaic, and Sussex counties. The first step was identifying Parsippany Child Day Care Center, where today’s event was held, as the anchor for the pilot’s shared services model which seeks to maintain and expand the existing child care infrastructure.

The next step is to recruit up to 10 registered home-based child care providers with help from Child & Family Resources of Mount Arlington. Through United In Care, these local small businesses will access free resources, expertise, and technical support. United In Care is designed to also improve the quality of life for child care workers in the program, many of whom are ALICE essential workers.

United In Care is currently looking for home-based child care providers to join the District 11 alliance. Any business owners interested in participating can contact Susan.Cohen@UnitedWayNNJ.org or call her at (973) 220-9494. Providers can also call Child & Family Resources at (973) 398-1730.

United In Care was conceptualized during the COVID-19 pandemic as New Jersey was at risk of losing more than half its child care supply. Since its launch in 2020, United In Care has established an alliance in three other child care deserts across the state: Hudson County, Warren County, and Gloucester/Camden counties. There are many portions of District 11 where there is a scarce supply of child care, according to Childcaredeserts.org.

In addition to the federal funds, United In Care is supported by the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund, Overdeck Family Foundation, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, David A. Tepper Foundation, New Jersey Health Initiatives, Barclays and Reinvestment Fund. For more information, click here.

PARSIPPANY —Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) hosted a panel discussion with the Mental Health Association (MHA) of Essex and Morris to discuss the direct federal funding secured by Rep. Sherrill for a pilot project for suicide prevention services targeted to students in schools in NJ-11’s four counties.

Watch the livestream here. Panel begins at 20:25.

“As a mom of four kids, I am deeply concerned about the impact of the pandemic on our youth and adolescents. Over the past few years, our kids have experienced higher rates of stress, anxiety, and fear,” said Rep. Sherrill. “That’s why I worked hard to secure direct federal funding for MHA of Essex and Morris to expand suicide prevention outreach services in schools throughout NJ-11. I want to thank MHA CEO Bob Davison and his team for their commitment to the mental health of our children and families. Together, we will take care of our community and save lives.”

Community leaders throughout NJ-11, including MHA Executive Director Bob Davison and his team, Asst. Commissioner of the NJ Department of Human Services for the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services Valerie Mielke, Morris County Sheriff James Gannon, MHA Director of Suicide Prevention Services Tracy Klingener, representatives from the LGBTQ+ and veterans communities, parents who have somehow found a way to turn tragedy into a movement for prevention, and elected officials from the local and state governments, came together to discuss the critical need for mental health resource outreach for children and youth as we emerge from the pandemic.

“Congresswoman Sherrill’s leadership on suicide prevention is inspiring and reassuring. It is wonderful to know that individuals and their families struggling with mental health issues have a voice in Washington. This grant is a wise investment in the people of New Jersey, especially as we rebound from the pandemic. It will make a difference, allowing MHA to provide education throughout the district about suicide prevention and raise awareness about the importance of mental health,” said Bob Davison, CEO of the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris.

Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris’s Suicide Prevention Services program will be receiving direct federal funds through Community Projects in the House Appropriations Committee. These services are designed to provide specific presentations on suicide prevention for students in grades 6-12. These services can also support the greater community of Essex, Morris, Passaic, and Sussex Counties, including parents, family members, houses of worship, and colleges. The project will include a media campaign to increase awareness regarding mental health with information on how and where to find help.

Read more about all ten of Rep. Sherrill’s Community Projects by clicking here.

MORRIS COUNTY — The Morris County Republican Committee is pleased to announce that former Morristown Democratic Committee Chair, former Democrat candidate for Morris County Commissioner, and Co-Founder of the Morris County Chapter of the Young Democrats, A.J Oliver, has switched parties and joined the Republican Party. We welcome A.J Oliver with open arms and look forward to working with him to bring better government for all residents of Morris County.

This year will show that voters have been burnt out by the woke, extremist, and completely out of touch with reality politics of the far left. Inflation has affected everyday residents and shown the ineptitude of the current administration in Trenton and in Washington. It is encouraging to see former leaders in the Democrat party understanding that their party no longer represents them.

“Our party has consistently shown its commitment to good governance, individual rights, and the rule of law. For too long, the fringe politics of the extreme left have dominated the Democrat Party and pushed well-meaning members and candidates either to the far left or completely out of their party.” said Morris GOP Chairwoman Laura Ali, adding “Aaron has shown his commitment to the individual rights of each person and fought to prevent the needless deaths of unborn children across the county. We couldn’t be happier to include him in our party.”

A.J Oliver made clear the issues currently afflicting moderate Democrats today saying, “There’s much talk about how the Democrat Party has the bandwidth for differing views but my experience has shown this couldn’t be further from the truth. The rabid response from the extreme left to my religious views laid bare the brutal nature of Democratic politics today. Laura has shown just how welcoming the Republican Party can be and has given me hope that there is a place for moderate voters like myself.”

Ali also took the opportunity to make a call for former staffer for Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell (R), Republican candidate for office in Virginia, and current Democrat candidate for Morris County Commissioner, T.C McCourt, to come back home to the Republican Party. “It’s important that we continue to build on the successes we’ve had locally. We hope that T.C understands that there is a place back in the GOP for him and that we would be happy to welcome him back with open arms. His vote in the Republican primary in 2017 showed his unhappiness with Governor Murphy and we don’t blame him.”

For information on how to change affiliation to the Republican Party, please visit morrisgop.org where documentation can be provided. For assistance, please call (973) 998-4955 or visit our Parsippany office at 51 Gibraltar Drive, Suite 1D, Morris Plains 07950.