The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development on Wednesday announced it awarded $2.2 million through a third round of the Cultivating Access, Rights and Equity grant program to 24 organizations, including three collaboratives that comprise 12 of the grantees.
CARE grants fund outreach, education and technical assistance programs to increase equitable access to New Jersey’s worker benefits and protections. The CARE grant program reaches workers who need increased access to their rights and benefits, including low-wage workers, workers of color, immigrants, women, refugees, survivors of domestic/sexual violence and young workers. The program also funds outreach and education to small and immigrant-owned businesses, and other employers that need resources and information about their obligations and compliance.
Awardees include community organizations, worker centers, service providers, professional associations, libraries and faith-based groups that have demonstrated their ability to provide community-centered, culturally relevant and language-specific programming, and link underserved residents and small businesses with government programs.
“We are proud to announce the third round of awards through our CARE Grant program, which has doubled its funding amount since its inaugural award total of $1.1 million,” Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said. “We are deeply grateful for the continued support of our longstanding partners and excited to welcome new collaborators as we expand our efforts to aid New Jersey’s most underserved communities.”
“Through outreach and workshops, Make the Road New Jersey will be able to ensure that low-wage immigrant workers know whether they are eligible for earned sick days and paid leave, whether they are being compensated appropriately under the law, and how they should be classified based on the work they perform,” Sara Cullinane, executive director of Make the Road New Jersey, said.
To see the full list of awardees and their amounts, please click here.
