Welcome to the first edition of The Vermont Early Ed Bulletin, your source for current data and resources related to Act 76 and early childhood education policy!
Building Bright Futures (BBF) is responsible for monitoring Act 76, Vermont’s landmark child care law passed in 2023. BBF is tracking the effects of the law’s changes to and investments in Vermont’s early childhood education system. BBF submits a report about Act 76 to the House Committee on Human Services and the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare every year.
Read the 2024 Monitoring ReportAs part of this monitoring effort, Building Bright Futures will regularly send The Vermont Early Ed Bulletin, delivering accessible updates with news about the implementation of Act 76 as well as other early childhood education and child care policy updates.
Visit the Act 76 pageIf you have questions or info you’d like to add to these newsletters, please get in touch with Anna Brouillette.
Data Direct: Current data direct to your inbox
Research on the Child Care Financial Assistance Expansion: A new research brief published by Child Trends shows that Vermont’s Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) is helping families find and afford the care they need and supporting providers in building capacity to care for Vermont’s children. Read more here.
Coming Soon: Vermont’s Early Childhood Data & Policy Center is developing an Act 76 data portal! Stay on the lookout for the release of this searchable resource with data at the County and AHS District level. In the meantime, the Child Development Division updates public statewide data on a quarterly basis. Find it here.
Employer Data Collection Project: State Advisory Council member Dimitri Garder is leading a project to understand the experiences of employers with the child care system. In this short video, he shares an overview of the project and the importance of bringing employer expertise to the table to talk about child care.
Watch the video
Policy Pulse: Recent policy summarized at your fingertips
Read a recap of the legislative season happenings for Act 76
It has been two years since Act 76 passed. BBF’s Policy Manager, Martha Braithwaite, has provided a blog post to keep you apprised of the Act’s implementation, impact, and related legislative updates. You can find the full post here.
Ready Resources: From VT and across the nation
Ready Resources: From VT and across the nation
- NIEER State of Preschool Yearbook: VT moved from 4th to 2nd in the country for access provided to 4-year-olds and maintained a 2nd-place ranking for access for 3-year-olds.
- Celebrating Progress on Data Access and Integration Made Possible by the Preschool Development Grant: The Preschool Development Grant (PDG) is investing $23 million in Vermont’s early childhood system from 2023–2025. This federal grant is improving the lives of children and families in many ways. Read BBF’s blog post about one grant project that focuses on data integration to reduce obstacles to accessing data.
- Building a Better Future Through Child Care—Vermont Leads the Way: This article published by New America features qualitative examples of the impacts of the public investment in child care in Vermont.
- The RAPID Survey Project, based at the Stanford Center on Early Childhood, seeks to understand and elevate experiences and challenges facing families to provide timely, actionable insights that inform policies and programs. Read their latest fact sheet about increasing emotional hardship and distress among those providing child care to young children.
Open Opportunities: Connect to current and upcoming early childhood system happenings
- BBF State Advisory Council Meeting on Oct. 27
- BBF is hosting a series of fall forums as part of Act 76 monitoring to listen and learn from Vermont communities—what’s working well in Vermont’s child care system and where challenges remain. These events are for families, providers, eligibility specialists, and anyone else who has firsthand experience with Vermont’s child care system. In-person events will include dinner and on-site child care for participants. Register to join a forum in your area: Oct. 6 in Newport, Oct. 21 in Sheldon, Oct. 23 in Brattleboro, Oct. 30 via Zoom, or Nov. 6 via Zoom.
