Lack of Preschools in Cape May County

To the editor:
As I searched for a preschool for my daughter last winter, I was dismayed to find that there were very limited options. Of the 12 preschools in a 10-mile radius, six did not accept students younger than two and a half years (my daughter at the time was 18 months), and the majority had wait lists that were long. Even more discouraging was the fact that only two of these preschools were accredited.
In fact, according to an annual report by Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), only 6.5 percent of New Jersey’s 4,015 child care/education centers have earned national accreditation (acnj.org).
As of December 2013, Cape May County dropped from 17 to 18 out of 21 on ACNJ’s list for child well-being within the state of New Jersey. The lack of accredited early education centers may account for Cape May County’s continuing downward fall for children’s well-being.
As a concerned parent and member of this community, I feel that it is necessary to increase the number of accredited early education centers; not only to ensure the well-being of our children, but to benefit the community as well.
The accreditation process can be expensive. In order to encourage preschools to take on the costly and lengthy process, the state needs to restore grants to help make accreditation reality. Without help from the state, Cape May county preschools will continue to fall short of national standards, putting our children at a disadvantage.