Acting New Jersey Gov. DiFrancesco Announces Host of Health Benefits for Kids, Working Poor

Acting New Jersey Gov. Donald DiFrancesco (R) on Aug. 7 announced funding increases for several programs targeted toward children and the working poor, including FamilyCare, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. The FamilyCare program, the state's non-Medicaid CHIP program for low-income families originally launched under former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R), will receive a $25 million boost to its current $156 million budget. The increased funding will allow "at least" 30,000 individuals with pending FamilyCare applications to be accepted into the program, which has enrolled 121,000 working adults and single parents since last November. In addition, DiFrancesco announced a program to create new prenatal and perinatal clinics, including $450,000 to the Arc of New Jersey for the establishment of clinics to prevent and treat fetal alcohol syndrome, as part of his larger "KidsNeeds" agenda. DiFrancesco leaves office in January, but is "confident" that the new governor will continue to build the current programs. According to the Star-Ledger, neither Bret Schundler (R) or James McGreevey (D), the gubernatorial candidates vying to replace DiFrancesco, would offer "specifics" on which programs they would keep or discard (Livio, Newark Star-Ledger, 8/8). For further information on state health policy in New Jersey, visit State Health Facts Online.