Our Policy Agenda

Because of child care champions like YOU, the 2021-2022 legislative biennium was a huge success for Vermont’s child care system. Thank you for being a child care champion – you are the reason we’ve never been closer to transforming Vermont’s child care system for good!

Here’s what we have achieved together:

In 2021, the legislature passed H.171/Act 45, which laid the foundation for our future work to achieve equitable, high-quality, affordable child care for all Vermont children birth-five.

In 2022, the Legislature made incremental investments to stabilize the child care system, while continuing to work toward the goals outlined in H.171/Act 45. Investments included:

Family affordability: $4.9 million increase to the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) to support families and programs;
Workforce retention and recruitment: Funding for retention bonuses for staff working in regulated child care programs, and to support high school students interested in starting a career in child care through pre-apprenticeships;
Long term transformation: Language authorizing funding for the Child Care Financing Study outlined in H.171/Act 45;
And more!

In 2023, Vermonters worked together with lawmakers to pass Act 76! This new law makes Vermont a national leader in child care with historic investments that will stabilize our child care sector; provide access to affordable, quality child care for thousands of Vermont kids and their families who need it; and overall help make Vermont a more affordable place to live.

In 2024, the Vermont Legislature must deliver on the promise of Act 76, which will invest an additional $125 million a year into Vermont’s child care system. This year, we'll work with policymakers to continue improving our child care system, including allocating funding for Act 76 and ongoing child care supports in the State Fiscal Year 2025 Budget.

And we’re not done yet.

Act 76 is proof that solving the child care crisis is within our reach. Together, we can ensure that:

all Vermont families have access to affordable, quality child care;
every child has access to skilled and professionally compensated educators;
and families spend no more than 10% of their household income on child care.

So let’s take a moment to celebrate the amazing victories we achieved together this biennium by thanking your legislators for investing in child care, and then let’s get ready to get out into our communities this summer and fall during election season.

Join the Campaign

When you sign below, you're joining Vermont's Child Care Campaign alongside nearly 40,000 Vermonters saying together:

"I support prioritizing children and increasing public investments in high-quality,
affordable child care to ensure every Vermont child has a strong start."

Please add your name here:

Click HERE to learn more about how your business or organization can endorse Vermont’s Child Care Campaign.