Good news for Vermont families with young kids! The state is using a special federal grant to improve the system of early childhood services. This grant is called the Preschool Development Grant (PDG), and it’s giving Vermont $23 million over three years (2022–2025). Many partners are working together to carry out the work of the grant, including:
- The Child Development Division (CDD)
- The Department of Health (VDH)
- The Department of Mental Health (DMH)
- The Agency of Education (AOE)
- The Office of Racial Equity (ORE)
- Building Bright Futures (BBF)
What’s the progress so far?
- Identified Needs: We documented the biggest needs of children and families by listening to and learning from the experiences of families. We also reviewed existing reports put out by early childhood partners over the past five years. We identified common needs across all of these sources. This information will help us plan for the future.
- Connecting with Families: We’re helping families find resources and leadership opportunities. We’re also training childcare providers on how to build strong relationships with parents.
- Growing the Workforce: We’re offering free training, professional development, and college courses to help more people work in early childhood care and education.
- Creating Childcare Spots: We’ve awarded grants to local organizations to create over 250 new childcare spots.
- Increasing Access to Mental Health: We’re training more mental health specialists in approaches that meet the needs of children and their families.
- Focusing on Equity: We’re making sure all programs consider the needs of every child and family, regardless of background.
- Using Data: We are working on connecting data across the different parts of the early childhood system. This creates a fuller picture of the early childhood system and allows us to make better decisions. We’re also tracking progress on the grant activities to see what’s working and what’s not.
What’s next?
- Updating the Plan: We’re working on a new strategic plan (Vermont’s Early Childhood Action Plan, or VECAP) for early childhood care and education in Vermont from 2026 to 2030. We want to hear from more people in the community this time around.
- Improving Programs: We’re working on ways to better monitor and improve the quality of child care and early education programs.
- Learning from Each Other: The different organizations involved in the grant are working together to share information and improve communication. This should make things clearer for child care and early education providers and ultimately benefit the children and families they serve.
Conclusion
There’s still work to be done, but we’re on the right track! We are making progress in improving the system of early childhood services with the help of the PDG. We have one more year of funding. We’ll know more about the full impact of our work at the end of the grant. Stay tuned for more information!
