UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL JERSEY INC
32 FORD AVE, MILLTOWN, NJ 08850 www.uwcj.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: The United Way of Central Jersey provides leadership to create opportunities for a better life for peoples living or working in our community who are needy, at risk and vulnerable. We achieve this by mobilizing people, organizations and financial resources to create and sustain programs that achieve targeted outcomes and lasting change through volunteerism, partnerships, services and advocacy.

Providing community leadership to ensure children and their families achieve their potential through evidence-based initiatives in the areas of education, income stability and healthy lives.

HEALTHNurse Family Partnership The nationally acclaimed Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) which specifically targets low income, first time pregnant woman, provides comprehensive parenting training and education along with a range of other supportive services from the twelfth week of pregnancy through the child's second birthday. The program, which consists of an intensive schedule of home visits by registered nurses, has proven successful in both the short and long term by ensuring that babies get a healthier start even before birth, by helping mothers take better care of themselves and by helping children grow to adolescence with fewer problems ; outcomes include: 67% reduction in behavioral and intellectual problems by age 6 Immunization rates for children in NFP increased by 19% Pre-term births decreased by 21% A recent study of over 30,000 NFP families showed that pre-term births cost an average of $54,194 while a full-time healthy birth averages $4,389 - a significant cost saving.UWCJ is recognized as the NFP replication site for Middlesex and Somerset counties since 2005. With support from the NFP National Service Office, in 2019 UWCJ's NFP program expanded to a full complement of 8 bachelor-level nurses as well as incorporating a system of mental health support for both families and program staff.

EDUCATIONWith New Jersey's expanded support of public pre-school programs, UWCJ is working closely with one local community to add value to its pre-school program by increasing education of the students and their families regarding oral health, as well as increasing opportunities for pre-school STEM education. In collaboration with the local School Board, UWCJ's bi-lingual and bi-cultural master level staff is assigned to this pre-school program to assist families transition into their child's formal education, provide needed support services including ESL and referrals ranging from housing and employment help to rental and food assistance as well as immigration problems.Since 2008, UWCJ has been the Middlesex County replication site for the evidence-informed ParentChild+ (PC+) program. UWCJ is implementing the family childcare model of PC+, which is designed to support home based childcare providers in their role of helping young children prepare for school and life success. Educational books and toys along with child-level instructions for providers and parents on effective use of each item are provided to assist young children develop socio-emotional and literacy skills. Engaging early via this program model helps create a path to possibilities for low income families. PC+ works with a maximum of 5 family childcare providers during each 24-week program cycle providing 48 visits and sharing 360 books with the children in care.The benefits of the ParentChild+ program have been studied, with empirical evidence suggesting that it is effective in preparing children for school and improving performance on standardized tests. The positive effects continue through childhood into adolescence, with one study showing that ParentChild+ graduates from low income families have a 20-30% greater chance of graduating high school compared with their socioeconomic peers.UWCJ continues its initiatives to create a system for academic and life success for Middlesex County children ages 0-5 through its place-based initiatives and its Social Impact Bond project to improve child education and health outcomes.

INCOMEUWCJ assists financially fragile households in 4 leadership capacities.1. Leveraging an IRS grant to provide free tax return preparation service year-round for income-eligible households, limited English proficient and elderly; the IRS grant in matched in excess of 1:1 with UWCJ's own resources. This initiative filed over 4,000 returns (federal & state combined) during the 2020 filing season, returning refunds of $2.2 million dollars to tax filers and the community. Tax filing fee savings for taxpayers averaged $500,000 annually. Connected to providing free income tax preparation is our Savings Initiative, encouraging taxpayers to set aside part of their tax refund to a savings account.2. Providing administration support to Middlesex County's Local FEMA Board which in 2019 generated $375,504 in FEMA Awards to community organizations providing emergency shelter; rent, mortgage and utility assistance; and emergency food, diapers and infant formula.3. In collaboration with other partners to meaningfully address the challenges faced by vulnerable families with young children: Family Success Institute, Advocates for Children in New Jersey, Middlesex County Workforce Development Board, Middlesex County Human Services Advisory Council and New Brunswick Tomorrow; as well as aligning with United Way Worldwide's Campaign for Grade Level Reading.4. Supporting NJ211 the state's multi-lingual telephone and online helpline available 24/7/365 providing information about available services to residents of UWCJ's service area.

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