The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) has announced a $3 million funding round for its Cultivating Access, Rights, and Equity (CARE) grant program. This fifth round of funding since the program’s launch in March 2022 aims to increase equitable access to crucial labor rights and benefits for all workers across the state, especially those who are historically underserved.
The CARE program provides funding to community-centered organizations for outreach, education, and technical assistance on complex labor issues. Funds are specifically available to support programming on:
- Paid family and medical leave (Temporary Disability and Family Leave Insurance)
- Unemployment Insurance
- New Jersey Wage and Hour Law (including Earned Sick Leave, minimum wage, and anti-misclassification)
- The Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights
“With this additional round of funding, we are empowering organizations that serve as lifelines to our communities, especially to those who have been historically underserved,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo.
The program focuses on workers such as low-wage workers, immigrants, women, refugees, survivors of violence, and temporary workers. The grants also support small and immigrant-owned businesses seeking compliance information.
Previous CARE grantees have demonstrated significant impact, including making over 225,000 in-person connections and assisting more than 6,500 individuals with benefits applications or complaint forms. Outreach has been conducted in over a dozen languages, including Arabic, Haitian Creole, Korean, and Spanish.
The CARE grant program accepts applications from public and private nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, and tribal government partners. Eligible applicants must demonstrate their role as a trusted resource within their community and their capacity to provide culturally relevant and in-language programming.
Grants are expected to range between $50,000 and $200,000.
Organizations interested in applying must observe the following deadlines:
- Information Session: Nov. 17, 2:00 – 3:30 pm (Registration required) To register, click here. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend an information session.)
- Application Interest Form Due: Nov. 20 by 11:59 pm. To complete the interest form, click here.
- Applications Due: Nov. 21 by 5:00 pm.
To view complete details and the full Notice of Grant Opportunity, click here.
For more information on the CARE grant program, visit: www.nj.gov/labor/care.
