New Jersey has a long history of impactful advocacy for young children. In 2018, Advocates for Children of New Jersey ACNJ) joined Think Babies as a state partner and formed the New Jersey Think Babies Coalition to bring specific focus to the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families.
Since then, the Coalition has leveraged additional projects and funding, including from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to make significant strides in envisioning and advancing a Prenatal to Three (P-3) system that works for New Jersey children and families. From the beginning, engaging families of young children has been a priority in New Jersey’s P-3 advocacy. This brief focuses on the evolution, impacts, and future of family leadership in advocacy for young children in New Jersey.