In addition to the spotlight on perinatal health we featured recently from BBF’s The State of Vermont’s Children, this year’s report gives insights into early childhood physical and mental health, education, and basic needs.
In this 3-minute video, I shared some of these highlights we see in the latest Vermont data. These include a 36% increase in the number of homeless children enrolled in school compared to pre-pandemic rates, and an 83% increase in the number of children ages 3 to 8 with an emotional or mental health condition. Also, 101 Universal Prekindergarten students were suspended or expelled from September 2022 to October 2023, and the percentage of third grade students reading below proficient increased to 58.8% in the 2021-2022 school year, up from 50% in 2019.
We clearly have work to do to improve the well-being of Vermont’s children, but the good news is, we have a strong network and a common vision for a well-resourced, data-informed, and integrated early childhood system. You can find more details in the report and drill down by issue or region using our data portal.