The State Advisory Council (SAC) is Vermont’s Governor-appointed, primary advisory body on the well-being of children prenatal to age 8 and their families. In partnership with Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan (VECAP) Committees and the Regional Council Network, the SAC sets priorities and strategic direction for statewide initiatives using the VECAP and up-to-date data.
In 2019 and the start of 2020, the SAC worked to drive collective action in Vermont in 2 key areas:
- Early Childhood and Family Mental Health
- Workforce as a critical step to build a high-quality, accessible Early Childhood system.
Given the COVID-19 pandemic’s exacerbation of gaps and barriers faced by children and families statewide, as well as Vermont’s re-commitment to dispelling systemic racism and social injustice, VECAP Committees and the SAC made 5 areas of policy recommendations:
- Recognize Vermont’s early care and education system and workforce as essential
- Mitigate COVID impacts on family economic stability and mental health
- Recognize chronic inequities and racism as a public health crisis
- Empower family voice to rebuild a stronger system
- Evolve our data system to address gaps
