In March, five experts joined our Early Childhood Grand Rounds panel to talk about Vermont’s Act 76, Vermont’s landmark child care law. They shared insights on recent progress in early education and ongoing monitoring efforts. This panel aimed to support decision-makers, early childhood partners, and the public in tracking the implementation and impacts of Act 76. We have made significant progress in implementing this historic law and are seeing the benefits for children, families, and early childhood education programs and educators.
In case you missed it, you can watch the video and read highlights below.
Janet McLaughlin, the deputy commissioner of the Child Development Division, Department for Children and Families, shared these highlights:
- The Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP), a subsidy that helps Vermont families pay for child care, is the main vehicle for Act 76 investments.
- Thanks to expanded eligibility, the number of Vermont children receiving CCFAP has increased from 6,200 in 2023 to 9,600 in the current fiscal year!
- The state launched an online CCFAP application in 2024 to make the process easier.
“We increased rates paid to child care providers on behalf of families, and…we increased the income eligibility for families from 350% of the federal poverty level to 575% of the federal poverty level. That makes Vermont’s program by far the most financially inclusive child care subsidy program in the nation.” —Janet McLaughlin, Child Development Division, Vermont Department for Children and Families
Next, Sara Amadon, senior research scientist at Child Trends, and Kate Steber, research scientist at Child Trends, shared data on how these changes to CCFAP have affected equal access to child care:
- In surveys and focus groups, Vermont families said the expanded subsidy makes child care more affordable and less stressful for them.
- Early childhood educators said the increased rates paid to providers allow for better pay, bonuses, and benefits for the workforce, such as health and dental insurance.
- The number of child care slots in Vermont increased by 500 from January through September 2024. However, more capacity is needed, and families said it was a challenge to find available child care slots. Other areas for improvement mentioned included language barriers and challenges gathering the needed documents for the CCFAP application.
“That money [increased CCFAP reimbursement resulting from Act 76] is not ‘extra money,’ because we know we haven’t been paid enough and we need more materials. We’re so used to scraping by with so little, the increase [in CCFAP reimbursement rate] is getting closer to reflecting the actual cost of care.” —An early childhood education administrator
The next speaker was Sharron Harrington, executive director of the Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children (VTAEYC). Sharron spoke about the impacts of Act 76 and other recent changes for Vermont’s early childhood educators. The following programs administered by VTAEYC are helping attract new educators to the field and helping current educators stay in the field:
- The Student Loan Repayment Assistance Program for early childhood educators awarded $1.2 million from 2023–2025.
- SPARQS provides coaching and program assessments for Vermont’s STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS). In addition, Vermont Early Childhood Networks (379 members) meet monthly for professional development, community events, and promoting workforce retention/recruitment.
- Professional development grants and bonuses for early childhood programs and educators encourage accreditation and excellence. From 2023–2025, these grants totaled $90,000 and bonuses totaled $1.4 million.
- VTAEYC’s TEACH scholarship and Apprenticeship Program for early childhood educators has awarded 181 scholarships and funded 756 courses. Its Youth Apprenticeship program has 33 participants this school year.
“It has been a blessing. I could not stay in this field without it.” —Recipient of Student Loan Repayment Assistance for early childhood educators
Lastly, we heard from Erin Roche, the Vermont director for First Children’s Finance. She provided a first look at the results of the third annual survey of Vermont child care providers. The survey results suggest that the field is more stable than before, though hiring is still a challenge:
- 64% of respondents said their enrollment is stable, up from 40% in the 2023 survey.
- About two-thirds of respondents said hiring was very or somewhat difficult during 2024, down from more than 90% in 2022.
- In 2024, the actual closure rate was 3% of all programs, down from 9% in 2023.
“Since Act 76, child care businesses have been operating in a more stable environment. Hiring and costs of compensation continue to be a challenge for centers and afterschool programs.” —Erin Roche, Vermont director for First Children’s Finance
Visit our Monitoring Act 76 webpage for ongoing updates. While monitoring the law’s impacts and addressing a number of continued challenges remain critical, overall the success of Vermont’s progress toward increasing access to and affordability of early education should be celebrated.
