Vermont awarded $23M grant to support children, families and the early childhood system

January 31, 2023 (MONTPELIER, Vt.) — Vermont has received a $23 million federal grant to strengthen the state’s early childhood system, support the early childhood workforce, and improve the quality and availability of services for children of the improve birth to age 8. The Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Renewal Grant provides the state with approximately $7.7 million per year for three years (2023–2025), with $2 million in grants going annually to local communities to improve mental health Support health care for children and families. quality childcare and family engagement, and support for the early childhood workforce.

The award will help Vermont improve the delivery of services to families with young children across all facilities and services, including child care, universal preschool education, Head Start, health care, mental health care, and other services and programs that improve the health and well-being of People support Vermont children and their families.

“This investment in Vermont’s early childhood system will advance Vermont in the critical work identified with broad stakeholder input to improve outcomes for children and families,” said Morgan Crossman, executive director of Building Bright Futures (BBF). State Early Childhood Education Advisory Council and Network. “We are particularly excited to continue to leverage the expertise of communities and professionals who work directly with children and families and the early childhood workforce, as well as to work with and learn from the families themselves.”

The new grant-funded initiative, titled “Vermont Integration Project: Building Integration in Vermont’s Birth-5 Early Childhood Systems (VIP B-5)” was awarded to and co-led by the Child Development Division of the Vermont Agency of Human Services Building Bright Futures, the Vermont Department of Health’s Department of Maternal and Child Health, the Vermont Board of Education and the Vermont Department of Mental Health.

“Investing in and supporting early childhood education is a top priority for Vermont, and this grant will be a significant support in our efforts,” said Gov. Phil Scott. “I want to thank our federal partners, Building Bright Futures, and all of our partners for their continued commitment to building strong foundations for future generations.”

VIP B-5 will build on work completed as part of a year-long PDG planning grant Vermont received in 2018. The new funding will strengthen the state’s existing early childhood infrastructure, investments and partnerships. Through VIP B-5, Vermont will:

• Prioritize equitable and inclusive access to Vermont’s blended system of early childhood care and education, which includes licensed family and center-based child care programs, public schools, Head Start and community-based organizations.
• Support the early childhood workforce by providing professional development and training opportunities, leveraging the Vermont Early Learning Standards, and better integrating health and mental health care into early childhood care and education programs.
• Get input from families about the needs of Vermont’s young children, provide leadership opportunities for families, and improve access to early childhood resources, services, and support.
• Updated Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan (VECAP), the state’s five-year strategic plan for the early childhood system.
• Strengthen monitoring and accountability practices through data integration, analytics, and continuous quality improvement efforts.

Further details on funding activities, key partners, financing and participation opportunities can be found at buildingbrightfutures.org/pdg.

# # #

Building Bright Futures (BBF) mission is to improve the well-being of every child and family in Vermont by using evidence to inform policy and bringing voices together to discuss critical challenges and solutions to problems. Building Bright Futures (BBF) is Vermont’s early childhood public-private partnership organized under Vermont Title 33 § Chapter 46 and the Federal Head Start Act (Public Law 110-134) as Vermont’s Early Childhood State Advisory Council (SAC), the mechanism used, charged with advising the governor and legislature on the welfare of children in the prenatal period up to the age of 8 and their families. The network infrastructure of the BBF includes 12 Regional Councils, seven VECAP committees and the State Advisory Council. BBF maintains the vision and strategic plan for Vermont’s Early Childhood System. Learn more at buildingbrightfutures.org.