Last week, the State Advisory Council (SAC) formally endorsed the Policy Recommendations of Vermont’s Early Childhood State Advisory Council Network for 2025. These recommendations represent the most pressing and actionable priorities for early childhood stakeholders throughout the Building Bright Futures Network. We also released a new Policy Playbook explaining what the recommendations mean, why they matter, and some of the ways they can be put into action.
Congratulations to Vermont’s newly elected legislators! Together with early childhood partners across the state, we look forward to getting to work on these priorities for Vermont’s children and families.
The SAC is Vermont’s Governor-appointed, primary advisory body on the well-being of children from the prenatal period to age 8 and their families. In partnership with Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan (VECAP) Committees and the Early Childhood Regional Councils, the SAC sets priorities and strategic direction for statewide initiatives using the VECAP and the most high-quality, up-to-date data. The annual Policy Recommendations are developed based on the priorities elevated at all BBF Network gatherings over the course of the year. They seek to identify the current gaps and needs in policy, promote and monitor action in strategic areas for the coming year, and move Vermont toward a more equitable early childhood system.
This year’s Policy Recommendations focus on a wide array of priorities for improving the well-being of young children and their families, strengthening the quality of the settings and services in which they spend their time, and ensuring families have the resources they need to thrive. These recommendations represent needs and emerging priorities from across the state’s early childhood system. Priorities include:
- Enacting best practices statewide for elevating the voices of families and community members
- Investing to ensure families have access to safe and secure housing in the immediate term and long-term
- Supporting families, children, staff, and providers navigating the child welfare system by investing in system improvements that will improve service delivery
- Investing to ensure inclusion and meet social-emotional health needs in early education and afterschool programs
- And many more: Read the full recommendations here
We’re proud of the work the BBF Network—including countless state leaders, parents and caregivers, early childhood professionals, regional partners, and others—put into elevating and formally endorsing the 2025 Policy Recommendations of the Vermont Early Childhood State Advisory Council Network. We look forward to monitoring progress on implementing these recommendations as Vermont strives toward building the highest quality, most inclusive, most equitable early childhood system possible.
