Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan (VECAP) is a bold, collaborative approach to building a comprehensive and integrated early childhood system that promotes healthy child development and family stability. The VECAP outlines a cohesive vision by the year 2026 and establishes shared accountability to achieve statewide priorities for children and families from the prenatal period through age 8.
Originally established in 2013 along with the Vermont Early Childhood Framework, the updated VECAP is a structure around which to build coordinated action across public and private stakeholders throughout Vermont. It centers around making measurable changes in early childhood outcomes through identification of common goals, strategies to reach those goals, and the use of common language to align initiatives. It is built on Vermont’s Guiding Principles, which articulate Vermont’s commitment to fully include each and every child and their family in a continuum of meaningful experiences to ensure their health, mental health, safety, happiness, and success now and into the future.
Goals of Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan
Children’s healthy development depends on their early experiences, their environment, and the health and well-being of their parents and caregivers. We know children are more likely to thrive when they live in safe and stable home environments and when families have equitable access to resources when they need them. To achieve this goal, Vermont will work to ensure all children prenatal through age 8 are thriving across four primary domains: physical health, social and emotional wellness, developmental and educational results, and adequate basic needs for a child to thrive.
Vermont’s families and communities need to be strong, resilient, and have the capacity to identify and meet the needs of children. A priority within this goal is to advance policies and practices that honor and are supportive of each family’s culture, strengths, structure, expertise, and preferences. Building a system that listens to the needs of families, and creates space at the table to make decisions together, are core to success. To achieve this goal, Vermont will work to create safe and stable home environments, economic stability, family-friendly workplace policies, parent and family leadership, and communities with social and physical infrastructure to nurture resilient children and families.
Vermont is invested in giving children the strongest start possible by creating resources and services that are accessible, equitable and high-quality in the same four primary domains for children to thrive: physical health, social and emotional wellness, developmental and educational results, and adequate basic needs to improve family outcomes. Delivering quality services depends on a skilled and stable early childhood workforce. Identifying inequities for vulnerable children and building strategies to counter systemic racism and discrimination to create more equitable access to healthcare, mental health services, childcare, early identification and intervention, and learning outcomes.
Vermont is committed to building a seamless, equitable system of care for children and families. Goal 4 has three related parts. The first requires collaborative leadership, coordination, and communication at all levels starting with aligned vision and language championed by agency and community leaders. This leadership is essential to promote efficiencies and streamline systems to create a seamless experience for families. The vision is to build greater coordination with every sector—including early care and education, health, mental health, human services, housing, and the business community. The second part of Goal 4 is to collect and report high-quality data to understand how services, supports, and resources are reaching the kids and families they intend to, and to measure the extent strategies and investments are making the desired impact. The third part is to leverage the integration and data to guide Vermont’s early childhood expenditures, support efficient deployment of resources, and increase public awareness about the value of investing in children and the early childhood system.
Action Plan Committees
Child Outcomes Accountability Team (COAT)
Data and Evaluation Committee
Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Team (ECICT)
Early Childhood Investment Committee
Early Learning and Development Committee
Families and Communities Committee
Professional Preparation and Development (PPD) Committee
Accountability, Support, and Monitoring
Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan is a dynamic collective vision and plan, but accountability has been challenging to articulate. Frequently throughout the development of this action plan, members of focus groups and VECAP Committees vocalized this struggle. The question of who is responsible for what, when, and how is difficult to answer in a large statewide system with a culture of ever-increasing engagement and a structure of disparate stakeholders from both the public and private sectors.
All early childhood partners, including state agencies, community partners, and families, will be held responsible for working toward this vision by creating positive change in the early childhood system. Together, we will implement this plan and hold each other accountable to the goals, objectives, strategies, and outcomes identified within this plan. The Building Bright Futures Network infrastructure, including Regional Councils, VECAP Committees, and the State Advisory Council, will provide accountability, structure, support, and monitoring.
