New Jersey’s Shared Services Alliance

Urban League of Hudson County, Inc is part of the New Jersey Shared Services Initiative, which is a statewide effort to connect and support early care and education providers in a collaborative network in 16 New Jersey counties. The Shared Services Alliance is a membership-based organization and offers tailored services to meet the unique needs of their individual communities.

Through this Shared Services Alliance, we work to strengthen our members’ business operations, educational leadership and job quality for licensed child care centers and registered family child care providers.

Members pool resources, share expertise and streamline operations – allowing you to enhance your program’s quality, improve financial sustainability and expand access to affordable, high-quality child care. Ultimately, these efforts ensure better outcomes for children, families and communities.

By becoming a member, you’ll be able to:

• Maximize Limited Resources: Shared services helps child care providers funded by diverse sources (e.g., nonprofits, state- and federally-funded agencies, etc.) make the most of their limited resources.
• Reduce Administrative Burden: Centralizing tasks allows directors to focus more on delivering high-quality care and education.
• Strengthen Financial Management: Shared services provides expertise and essential tools for budgeting, cash flow management, payroll processing and addressing gaps in directors’ business training. The alliance also equips directors with the skills and systems needed to run financially sustainable programs.
• Enhance Operational Efficiency: Shared services streamlines time spent on facility maintenance, policy development and administrative workflows which allows directors to prioritize program quality.
• Support Staff Recruitment and Retention: Centralized hiring, training and supervision processes help ensure programs can attract and retain qualified staff.
• Improve Program Quality: By alleviating non-educational responsibilities, directors can focus on their passion for early childhood development, benefiting the children and families they serve.

                                                 Join Today!

Qien Porter Shared Service Alliance Coordinator qporter@ulohc.org 201-451-8888 x 114. If you are looking for more information or need to connect with a Shared Services Alliance in another county, visit the ChildCareNJ.gov Shared Services page.

Links to Helpful NJ State Resources

Child Care in New Jersey

The Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development offers a number of resources for child care providers, including funding opportunities, coaching, professional development and more for better quality care.

Grow NJ Kids

Grow NJ Kids is New Jersey’s quality rating system, which easily helps families choose high-quality programs right for them and their children. For eligible child care providers, Grow NJ Kids provides training, mentorship and incentives to improve your program for high-quality care.

Department of Children and Families (DCF), Office of Licensing (OOL)

Child care centers are required by state law to be licensed through the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

NJ Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)

The NJEDA creates and allows access to funding opportunities (grants) that may be available for child care providers.

Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)

The CACFP is a federally funded program through the Department of Agriculture. The program helps to provide nutritious foods to child care programs that are eligible for assistance.