The Strategic Plan Committees are guided by the goals and objectives that Vermont has identified as essential in Vermont’s Early Childhood Strategic Plan. Annually, Strategic Plan Committees elevate gaps and barriers impacting children and families and bring them to the State Advisory Council to inform policy recommendations.
Vermont’s Early Childhood Strategic Plan provides a shared vision and roadmap to ensure every child in Vermont, from the prenatal period through age 8, has the resources, opportunities, and support to thrive. The Plan is guided by Building Bright Futures’ (BBF’s) legislative mandate to steward Vermont’s early childhood system and was developed in partnership with the State Advisory Council and partners across the state. The Plan centers equity, belonging, and justice.
Join a Strategic Plan Committee Meeting
Three committees (Families and Communities; Safe, Healthy, and Healing Environments; and Early Learning and Development) are open to the public, and you are welcome to attend. You can also view recorded meetings on YouTube.
2026-10-08 10:00:00
Early Learning and Development Committee Meeting
2026-10-15 13:00:00
Families and Communities Committee – Family Lunch Bunch
2026-11-12 10:00:00
Early Learning and Development Committee Meeting
About the Strategic Plan Committees
Strategic Plan committees help keep the Plan on track by checking in regularly on progress and listening to data, stories, and community feedback. They work together to spot what’s going well, where changes are needed, and how to better support children, families, and providers. By sharing responsibility and learning as they go, committees help ensure the Plan stays useful, fair, and responsive over time.
Families and Communities Committee (Goal 5)
Safe, Healthy, and Healing Environments Committee (Goal 2)
Early Learning and Development Committee (Goal 3)
Family Economic Security Group (Goal 1)
Early Childhood Workforce Advisory Group (Goal 4)
Data and Evaluation Committee (Goal 5)
Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Team (Goal 5)
Goals of Vermont’s Early Childhood Strategic Plan
Children cannot thrive without stable housing, food, income, and transportation. The stress of being unable to meet basic physiological needs such as food and shelter, often due to poverty, impacts parents’ and caregivers’ capacity to create environments that support early childhood development. To advance this goal, Vermont must develop and expand financial supports, implement paid leave and family-friendly workplace policies, remove barriers that limit access to basic resources, and address the needs of those most impacted by economic insecurity.
Learn More About Goal 1Every child should grow up in conditions that support health, safety, and resilience. Stable, nurturing environments help children thrive in school, build strong relationships, and grow into healthy adults. Unsafe or unstable settings, trauma, and poor health can disrupt development and increase risks of chronic illness, mental health challenges, academic struggles, and involvement in child welfare or justice systems. To advance this goal, Vermont must invest in preventative health care, ensure access to health insurance, build emergency preparedness and climate resilience, invest in community infrastructure such as parks and broadband, and center racial equity in the child protection and health and human services systems.
Learn More About Goal 2Every child deserves access to opportunities that nurture their physical, social-emotional, and intellectual growth. Early experiences are the foundation of healthy development, preparing children for success in school and life. Without access, too many children miss critical developmental supports, deepening disparities in learning and long-term well-being. To advance this goal, Vermont must increase equitable access and affordability of early childhood education through a coordinated mixed-delivery system, increase inclusion for children with disabilities and developmental delays, ensure access to early intervention and special education, provide support and resources to early childhood education programs and schools, and reduce or eliminate exclusionary discipline in early childhood settings.
The early childhood workforce is essential to the health and success of children, families, and communities. A strong workforce not only ensures high-quality care and learning but also underpins Vermont’s economy by enabling parents to work and employers to thrive. Without equitable pay, professional recognition, and long-term investment, the state risks ongoing shortages, instability, and lost opportunities for children and families. To advance this goal, Vermont must expand access to affordable, high-quality training, education, and professional development for the early childhood workforce; increase compensation and benefits to allow workers to meet their basic needs and to thrive; and engage in effective recruitment and retention tactics to attract a broad, stable, diverse workforce.
Families and caregivers must hold real power in shaping decisions, and families’ transitions across systems must be smooth and coordinated. Caregivers are experts on the care, services, and supports each family member needs, and their voices should guide the policies, practices, and investments that shape their lives. High-quality, up-to-date data is an essential tool for learning about and responding to the needs of children and families statewide. To advance this goal, Vermont must involve families in leadership and decision-making, improve transitions among services, invest in improvements to data systems, and promote collaboration among early childhood leaders.
