Have you taken a look at Vermont’s Early Childhood Strategic Plan 2030? This is Vermont’s plan on how we want to improve outcomes for children and families. When we spoke with families to update the plan, they overwhelmingly shared how hard it is to meet their basic needs. This is why in the new plan, the first goal focuses on what Vermont needs to change to ensure All Children and Families Have Their Basic Needs Met such as food, housing, and transportation.
Why is Goal 1 important?
Prior to joining Building Bright Futures, I worked in affordable housing for five and a half years, was a member of Hartford’s Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness, and served as chair of the steering committee for the Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition (now the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont). I believe strongly that families need to be economically secure, including having safe and stable housing, sufficient food, and access to transportation and health care, in order to support their children’s success.
Children and their families need to consistently have their basic needs met in order to thrive. If parents or caregivers aren’t able to provide enough food or a safe, stable place to live, it causes a lot of stress for them as well as their children. Children need nutritious food and access to regular health care in order to be healthy, reach milestones in their development, and learn well in school. If a family’s car breaks down or if there aren’t enough bus routes where they live, that makes it hard to get to doctor’s appointments, child care, and afterschool programs.
Moving from vision (or plan) to action
What actions does our state need to take to make these things happen? One example of how to strengthen economic security for families is to have universal paid family and medical leave and family-friendly workplace policies. Paid leave policies, such as parental leave to take care of a new baby or adopted child, make it easier for people to care for their families without risking losing income or their job.
To create food security, Vermont needs to maintain Universal School Meals and give more resources to local and state food programs such as 3SquaresVT, WIC, and food pantries.
To make sure families have safe and affordable housing, Vermont needs to build more affordable housing units (both for rent and to own), invest in programs such as weatherization and energy efficiency, and expand programs that help low- to moderate-income families and first-time homebuyers own a home. And making sure that families have a safe place to live if they experience homelessness is essential. While the goal is to make homelessness brief, rare, and non-recurring, that won’t happen until there is a sufficient supply of housing in Vermont.
And to improve families’ access to transportation, Vermont needs to fund affordable public transportation (such as buses), including routes that are compatible with child care, medical, and afterschool locations and schedules. There are many more examples of actions to work toward Goal 1 in the full Strategic Plan.
How can you get involved?
The success of this Plan depends on each of us being a champion to make change. Are you a champion for food security, affordable housing or transportation options? Champions can be organization leaders or community advocates. Tell us where you are already working to make change by signing on to the Plan.
You can also get involved with a Regional Council or state-level Strategic Plan committee to help BBF track progress and identify challenges that can inform changes to policies and programs. These groups gather virtually 4-8 times a year and are open to the public.
