BBF Early Childhood Regional Councils are an essential part of our statewide network working to improve the well-being of children and families. In May 2024, Regional Councils met to identify two top priorities for each region for the next two years.
Council priorities play an integral role in the decision-making processes of the Vermont Early Childhood Fund (VECF) and are used to guide Regional Council agenda topics, set budgets, leverage member expertise to action, and strategize with partners. The selected priorities include building resilience in children, families, and communities; access to basic needs; child and family mental health; the impact of substance misuse on children and families; quality and capacity of early childhood education and services; and family engagement and support.
Priority Topics
These are the priority topics and descriptions cultivated over the last four years and updated for 2024 based on the types of issues typically raised at Regional Councils.
- Access to basic needs: Identify gaps and invite creative solutions to help families access programs and supports that meet their basic needs. (food, housing, diapers, health care, transportation, etc.)
- Family engagement and support: Representation and voice matter. Families are a key component to informing sound, sensible policy recommendations that improve equitable access to early childhood services. Engage and partner with families to improve systems and services. Expand opportunities for family partnership and leadership at the provider, organizational, and policy levels.
- Substance misuse and the impact on family and child health: Support families impacted by substance use disorder by building stronger connections between the early childhood and adult treatment systems so providers can support a child and family’s needs.
- Child and family mental health: Support early childhood and family mental health at home, in Early Childhood Education and school settings, and in the community. Promote strategies that build a child’s social-emotional development; support a caregiver’s emotional regulation; respond to the mental health workforce crisis; improve access to consultation and crisis services; and prevent the use of exclusionary discipline.
- Building resilience in children, families, and communities: Support prevention and ongoing resiliency efforts to ensure that children reach their optimal well-being and potential. Promote parent and provider education about resilience and the impact of trauma to better support children who are impacted by traumatic experiences such as eviction, poverty, death of a parent, substance use disorder, or domestic violence.
- Quality and capacity of early childhood education & services (including child care, pre-K, special education, mental health services, etc.): Respond to system gaps to improve access to high-quality learning and support systems that meet family needs. Promote and strengthen regional workforce development strategies by supporting recruitment, apprenticeship, training, retention, and professional development.
