>> Back to the drawing board -- >> We are here to resume bargaining and here to get a deal.

Also, disability advocates rally outside the state has to rev up the vote, fighting for equal representation before the November election.

>> I think really important for our community especially within the disability community to encourage others to get out the vote.

>> plus, No Child Left Behind.

A drastic increase in child poverty has expert asking if we have the political will to say child poverty in America is a disgrace.

>> Advocates ledge -- >> This is one of the most important programs that we have to combat hunger.

>> Funding for NJ spotlight news is provided by NJ insurance group.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Independent licensing of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and by the PSAT foundation.

From NJ PBS, this is NJ spotlight news.

Request good evening and thank you for joining us.

It is time to settle the strike.

More than 1700 nurses that have been on the land for more than a month now may finally get a deal in their labor grievances.

Union leaders representing nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick met for a negotiating session that went late into the day with a federal mediator.

It is just a second time they sat at a bargaining table together since employees walked off the job.

Progress has been painfully slow on the main sticking point for nurses.

Safe staffing ratios.

Brenda Flanagan reports.

Close union members railing.

>> It has been almost a month since the new size set out to negotiate.

Today they are meeting with the federal mediator.

>> We are ready to sit at a time the hospital wants us to negotiate.

We are here to resume bargaining, we are here to get a deal.

>> It has been fractious.

He recently canceled health insurance for striking nurses although they can pay to pick up extended COBRA coverage, management says it is standard practice to deny benefits for people who are not working.

The union accused management of unionbusting.

>> Instead of taking this seriously, Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas is stripping away your health care.

Even worse, they are painting you as a villain.

We are here to say do the right thing.

What you are doing today is not just an issue for nurses.

It is an issue for every patient in every hospital.

Quick striking nurses said they have rejected multiple offers over one fundamental issue, enforceable staffing ratios.

The one an agreement to protect both staff and patients.

Negotiations hit a wall.

>> They can tell the public that they give us all this money and all these benefits but sometimes, resources in the form of another colleague standing right next to you.

>> Hospital management says had been staffing ratio concerns by offering to pay nurses more if their unit fails to preferred standards but the union said no.

Union officials fear management simply pay the penalties because it is cheaper than hiring enough nurses to meet ratio requirements.

Management argued its hospital staffing levels already rank among New Jersey's highest and today, they tested striking nurses claiming they had warned union leaders the hospital would never agree to California like unqualified ratios.

Your leaders have known since April that is why the hospital negotiated this -- negotiated this issue in good faith.

>> With they said today was that everything the union has told you is a lie.

I am here to tell you that I have never been a liar.

Nor do I intend to start being a liar.

>> The union expressed outrage, it is getting support from Cory Booker who said this job action could set a precedent.

>> This has implications for the whole country.

This is not just a local strike.

These nurses are standing up for themselves but also for their patients and for the profession.

>> Poker spoke during a live stream sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders who featured the striking nurses and criticized the hospital CEO salary, Sanders chairs the Senate's health education labor and pensions community and promised to hold a hearing in New Brunswick.

>> We look forward to hearing the testimony of CEOs about why he thinks they be 70 million a year I don't have decent patient safety ratios in the hospital.

>> The hospital remains open, staffed by traveling nurses.

I am Brenda Flanagan.

>> Disability advocates are also flexing their might, rallying today in Trenton to remind legislators and the public that the power of the disability vote exists, keeps growing and can influence the outcome of November's election.

Cap Goldberg reports.

>> Disability advocates came to the capital today to encourage people to vote and showed lawmakers a united front on their concerns.

>> We think it is important for the community especially when -- within the disability community to encourage others to get out the vote and also for legislators to understand and become aware of our issues.

>> I felt my whole life.

Especially being disabled and trying to advocate for my life in today's real society.

People disability rights are typically not thought of.

>> This works for the aligned center of independence.

>> This helps people with disabilities understand how important voting is to create disability advocacy legislation.

Cressy helped people register to vote before and after the speeches.

This is one of the best ways for the disabled community to influence elections.

>> People have the power to influence policy.

Let's work together to get at the disability vote and make our voices heard.

>> We need to step up to the plate.

We need to dramatically inspire.

Twice it is estimated that more than one million New Jerseyans have a disability.

Now take a moment to a management the power of such a large community coming together to vote.

>> We have had a 7% increase over the past couple of years in voting in those with disabilities.

It is important because that is how we get our issues addressed.

>> Those issues are as diverse as the people within the disabled community.

In finding suitable job training.

We need to promote and implement policies.

Request we have the power to change the outcome of the things we want, the things we need every time we go to the ballot box.

>> And if people don't vote -- >> You can't complain if you don't vote.

Can't complain.

I don't want to hear it.

>> This event is part of disability voting rights week.

These advocates have until October 17 to get people to register.

Expect a busy few weeks of getting people signed up statewide.

In Trenton, I am Ted Goldberg.

>> Child poverty in the U.S. has more than doubled.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday released annual poverty statistics and found the child poverty rate rose from just over 5% to nearly 12.5%.

Largely because the expansion of the child tax credit ended.

Millions of families lost the extra cash with many reported using it for uses like emergency car repair and food.

They took steps to keep the child tax credit in place but advocates are calling for it to be made permanent at the federal level and expand it further so that older kids and low income households qualified.

Pointing to the direct impact credit made for millions of lives.

>> What we have proved is that poverty for children in America is not some accident, it is a policy choice.

This moral obscenity of the richest nation in the world having the highest poverty rates is not an accident.

Is not destiny, it is not inevitability, it is people in this institution making a policy choice.

>> Joined me now is the senior policy analyst for New Jersey policy perspective, Peter Chan.

Good to have you with me.

Senator Booker said this comes down to a choice in America.

You have all been advocating for quiet sometime about expanding the child tax credit.

Talk to me about the differences between New Jersey extending and -- an expanded version of this versus what the federal option was.

>> The federal child tax credit was expanded during 2021.

Gay families up to $3600 per child if you are under age six.

It also broke up into monthly payments.

It only applies to kids under age six so it does not apply to older kids.

>> We are talking about the difference of a pre-large chunk of money for a lot of families.

How do we see in effect what happens in our child poverty rates?

>> We don't have the data yet.

We'll have the numbers this year.

I do think it is clear from the federal data that if you give families money, they can reduce child poverty.

This is what Senator Booker refers to when talking about as apology choice -- as a policy choice.

It is a basic calculus.

Poverty is a lack of money and if you want to stop people from having too little money, you can send the money as part of a child tax credit program.

>> Is it safe to assume that seeing the numbers have doubled, 5.2 to 12.4% nationally, from 2021 to 2022 in child poverty, is it safe to assume that is a direct correlation with some of the pandemic euro funding dropping off or is that the stretch to be able to point to that directly?

>> I think it is very clear that the end of the child tax credit payments directly to the increase in child poverty in 2022.

There is plenty of data to back it up as well as external experts.

Fundamentally we can see the child poverty have been stubbornly high for years and years.

The child tax credit goes down to 5% and climbs right back up as soon as those payments go away.

This actually goes back to this question of a policy choice and a political choice.

Do we have the political will to say child poverty in America is a disgrace in New Jersey.

We are talking about one in eight children in the United States.

The wealthiest country in the world we live in poverty.

Poverty is $30,000 for a family of four.

I think about my own checkbook, my own bank account and to kids at home and I sometimes think about how I will maybe have to forgo a certain cost we might have to go to a different summer camp this year.

I can barely cover rent, food, basic needs.

>> Is it enough to make a dent in what these families are up against?

>> The credit is great.

It needs to expand even more.

We can help families make ends meet to help smooth over those kinds of bumps and financial shocks that can throw family into poverty and make families go hungry or lose their homes or their car.

That is what that money is really effective for.

>> Thank you so much, Peter.

Offering universal free school lunch is another way lawmakers think they can tackle a piece of the child poverty problem with students now fully back to school, more of them will be eligible for free or reduced back -- breakfast and lunch programs hunger advocates are I am more ways to make those meals free and available to everyone.

Raven Santana reports from Newark.

>> My favorite part of lunch is when we start to eat.

>> Matthew Francisco is just one of hundreds of students grades pre-k through eighth that receives a school lunch.

According to federal data, nearly 400,000 of the 1.4 million students in Jersey received free or reduced price meal between 2019 and 2020 and according to advocates, that number continues to rise.

>> Over 80% of our students receive free or reduced lunch.

Over 70% free lunch.

Once again, we know that is just a figure that demonstrates how families do like resources many times.

Crux you can have families earning double, triple, quadruple the cut off of the income limit and they are still struggling to make ends meet.

It is very expensive to live in New Jersey.

The cost of everything has gone up exponentially.

Especially over the last couple of years.

We know that hunger and food insecurity is on the rise.

>> Governor Murphy is banded just price loss to twice the federal poverty level.

Making about 26,000 more students eligible for those benefits the school year.

Lawmakers are trying to test a number of bills including one that would is in preschool for both students 2028 and would cost $500 million.

Crux there is an expense like everything there is.

I know that states like California have undertaken these tasks.

We have to figure out how we can do this responsibly.

You've seen us into a attic.

Bringing in more families.

Perhaps that is how we get to the finish line.

>> If a child forgets their money, the option would be to say you know either mom or dad has to monitor school, someone in the school has to loan the money or they would not eat.

Crack some districts like you are in the worksite they fear the brunt of difference in funding wishes for the sake expanding legislation is critical.

Because the federal program has three categories of meals.

In each category, the only category that is completely covered is the free category.

The reduced price individual has to pay a portion and they are expected to pay the entire amount.

The challenge is to elect that additional funding that are not necessarily worth the effort and expense that it takes.

We as a district have opted to feed our students and to all of our students for several years and to actually cover that cost out of the district's general fund.

Christman when children come to school, the meals they received at school are the only meals they get.

The reliance on one hour school service personnel Dale is critical.

Crux it was only a matter of time.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey unveiled the driverless shuttle at Newark Airport.

A driver is behind the wheel.

No hands are needed.

The shutter will be used.

The month-long pilot program was launched to address the last mile transit challenges.

That is where commuters don't have short length transportation options to get them to their final stop.

The Port Authority said they could allow for faster and more reliable connections.

The vent does not operate faster than 35 miles per hour.

It always has a safety driver on board.

As they say, this is just the beginning.

In our spotlight on business report, taxpayers may finally get a better understanding of exactly how their tax dollars are spent.

A new law signed earlier this week calls for a plain language version of the state's financial report.

It is a dense document that is hard even for lawmakers to decipher but it keeps tabs on how billions of dollars get spent in New Jersey.

Our budget and finance reporter is probably one of the few people who does not struggle reading that report and he joins me now.

Good to see you.

What does plain language me when we are talking about a financial document that is hundreds of pages that for most of us are eyes glossed over and we try to get through it as quick as possible because it is just that complicated?

>> Good to be with you today.

The documented report that comes out every year is really a status check on the state's financial condition.

A lot of times we focus on how much money the state has taken, what is happening with taxes.

This report is more of a 30,000 foot up look at the state's finances.

It just goes beyond what is happening.

As you noted, it is more of an accounting document, it includes a lot of audited figures.

We will have to see how the auditor comes up with the plain language version.

The idea that lawmakers had was to put some of this information in less abstract terms.

Maybe we will see a narrative or descriptions.

We will also see comparatives to New Jersey and the other state, putting this more in context, it is looking beyond that one fiscal year and taking a bigger look at the state's overall financial condition.

That can be a little different than how the budget looks in one year versus how things actually are.

Crux especially these last few years.

Is the thought that they will get more input from the public?

Do they expect the public to consume this now?

By and large, they are not at this point.

>> I think that will be a good question.

If the public has been deterred from looking at the financial condition of the state because it is really hard to find a document that can understand that spells it all out, the idea would be that this would be something you could go through and the average person would be able to get a good understanding or idea from reading this document.

It is worth noting there will be an appearance by the state auditor required before lawmakers every year weeks before the state budget deadline.

That could be another opportunity.

We focus a lot on a budget but even if for one day the state's brought -- gets more attention than it does during the normal budget debates, that would be a good thing for the average person that is trying to get a good understanding of -- >> I guess the auditor would be the right person to do that.

A lot of the tension goes there.

>> Perhaps it is a little less politicized.

The governor's office, there is some give-and-take there clinically.

There could be some value in that.

If you think about the average person doing their taxes, they could have made money on them -- on an investment but there still may be a lot of debt.

They could have a big expenditure coming up like fixing their house or something like that.

This would give someone an idea of doing the same analysis.

>> John, thank you as always.

Turning to Wall Street, here is a look at today's closing trading numbers.

Be sure to tune into the season premiere of NJ biz be with Raven Santana.

This week she highlights the economic vision for Newark, talking one-on-one with Mayor Roz baraka as well as leaders in business, arts and culture.

Titles are for us tonight.

Make sure you also tune into reporter's roundtable with David Cruz tomorrow morning.

10 years after the infamous Bridgegate scandal, what is the lingering impact?

David talks with the kosher about whether or not the event is haunting governor Chris Christie in his bed for the GOP presidential nomination.

Then a panel of local reporters break down this week's political headlines.

Watch roundtable at its new time Fridays at noon on the NJ spotlight news channel.

As a reminder to download the spotlight news podcaster you can listen anytime.

I will do it for us tonight.

For the entire NJ spotlight news team, thank you for being with us.

Have a great evening, we will see you tomorrow.

Crux the members of the New Jersey education Association making public schools graver every child.

Let's be healthy together.

>> We will provide renewable offshore energy.

Jobs, educational, supply-chain and economic opportunities for the garden state.

Committed to the creation of a new long-term sustainable clean energy future for New Jersey.

Online at the website.

Crux with a new kidney, I have strength.

>> I'm still going everywhere and explore new places.

Close I look forward to getting old when my wife, that is possible now.

>> We are transforming lives.

Crux they give me my normal life back.

Our WJ Barnabas health.

Let's be healthy together.