New Jersey’s FY2027 budget proposal would expand Family Connects NJ to Morris County in January 2027, bringing free nurse home visits to families with newborns.
MORRIS COUNTY, NJ – Governor Mikie Sherrill announced on April 17, 2026 that her proposed FY2027 budget includes funding to expand Family Connects NJ, the state’s free nurse home visitation program for families with newborns, to the remaining counties not yet served, including Morris County.
The administration said that if the funding is approved, the program would begin operating in Morris, Hunterdon, Union, and Warren counties in January 2027 and would make New Jersey the first state in the country to offer free nurse home visits statewide through this model.
The announcement does not create an immediate new benefit for Morris County families, but it does put a concrete local expansion on the table in the next state budget. Family Connects NJ offers a free home visit from a specially trained nurse shortly after a newborn arrives home. During those visits, nurses perform health screenings, answer questions, and connect families to community resources. The governor’s office said the program had already served more than 10,000 families as of January 2026.
The proposal comes as state officials continue to frame maternal health as both a health care and equity issue. In the governor’s announcement, the administration cited findings from New Jersey’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee showing that pregnancy-related mortality for Black, non-Hispanic women in New Jersey was 7.6 times higher than for white, non-Hispanic women, while the rate for Hispanic women was 2.7 times higher.
The state had already expanded the program to 17 counties by late January, according to the Department of Children and Families, which said rollout remained on track for statewide implementation next year. DCF also said the program’s first-year evaluation showed that in 14% of visited families, nurses identified a serious postpartum health concern that could not wait until the next scheduled medical appointment, and that 2025 data showed the referral rate had risen to 18%.
For Morris County readers, the key distinction is that this remains a budget proposal, not an enacted expansion. But if the legislature approves the funding, Morris would move from being one of the last uncovered counties to one of the final four added in the statewide rollout. That would make the service available locally for families welcoming a newborn starting in January 2027, without regard to income, insurance, or immigration status.