Morgan Crossman: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Dr. Morgan Crossman. I'm the executive director of Building Bright Futures, and it is my honor to welcome you to the State of Vermont's Children briefing this afternoon.

Morgan Crossman: Building Bright Futures is Vermont's Early Childhood State Advisory Council, and in this role we're charged under State and Federal statute as the primary advisor to Vermont's Governor and the legislature, as well as well as our federal delegation, on the well-being of children and families prenatal to age 8. We bring together an incredible network of over 500 people on a monthly basis to build a robust group of partners at 12 regional councils, 7 Strategic Plan Committees, and our State Advisory Council to execute our responsibilities.

Morgan Crossman: And through this work, we have such a unique ability to understand the needs of children and families across every corner of the state, to elevate the voice of families and communities, to centralize key data and indicators that tell us how kids are doing, and to then use all of that information to make strong recommendations on behalf of Vermont's early childhood system.

Morgan Crossman: When we think about the role in advising our key decision-makers, a key scope of work we play in Vermont is serving as a nonpartisan, independent broker of data and serve as a really trusted data-driven advisor to those decision-makers. Within that responsibility, we are supporting the collective vision and strategy for data-driven decision making in Vermont's early childhood system. And today's briefing is just one example of the way we execute and model this work. So at the most simple level, the vision for data-driven decision making for kids and families, and really supporting accountability is, first, how do we support the collective understanding of young children's experiences with service provision with child and family outcomes and the system of services across sectors in Vermont?

Morgan Crossman: The second is maintaining that shared commitment to advancing the visibility and accessibility of data on child development and early childhood systems. And then, most importantly, how do we then translate that data into policy and programmatic decision-making? How do we support people in understanding how to use that data ultimately to improve equitable access to services for kids and families, especially those most vulnerable, and to improve long-term outcomes?

Morgan Crossman: We're really excited at Building Bright Futures that this is our 12th year of producing this report, and I'm so proud of our team's really strong work in this area to present Vermont's most objective, comprehensive, data-driven assessment on the well-being of young kids and families.

Morgan Crossman: One thing that's important to note when we think about centralizing data is that in Vermont, like many other states, we have a really complicated system of governance and administration, which means, as we think about collecting and compiling data on kids and families, it's the responsibility of many entities. And it's not centralized, coordinated, or integrated.

Morgan Crossman: So one thing that the State of Vermont's Children report does is compile indicators, over a hundred different indicators on kids and families in the system. So you have that full picture of the well-being of kids and families all at once spanning a range of different sectors, and we work hard to allow you to visualize really complicated data in a straightforward way, provide some additional context. So that you understand the policy issues and make recommendations based on those for the coming year.

Morgan Crossman: We hope that by having access to this information and data, it's allowing you, as leaders and decision-makers across the state, to respond more efficiently and effectively to the needs of kids and families and to actually monitor the impact of your policies and programmatic investments, both in the short and the long term. So I'm really proud of our team and this system for the legacy of this report, and to be trusted with that responsibility of strengthening the system and thinking differently about the way Vermont uses data to drive decision-making.

Morgan Crossman: One of the things important to acknowledge as we move into the data section of the briefing is how much time strong data work takes and the partnership that's required, so really strong appreciation for the expertise and guidance of the partners across this system. As we've developed this report and the data portals and all of the different metrics for how we think about monitoring the system, it takes a lot of work around providing data and responding and crafting really accessible narratives. So thank you so much. And finally, congratulations to my team on 12 years of really building Vermont's capacity to prioritize data-driven decision making in the early childhood arena.

Morgan Crossman: Thank you for joining us today. So as we look at today's agenda, I want to encourage all of you to take a look at the full report and each chapter to get a really strong sense of the data across different sectors as well as our regional profiles that have 9 key indicators. But what you're going to hear from the team today at Building Bright Futures is the introduction of data across a range of content areas, including basic needs health and mental health, early childhood and elementary education, and Vermont's child welfare system.

Morgan Crossman: We're then going to transition into a panel discussion, and we're really excited to have 3 colleagues in the room with us today, Lindsey Barron from the Department for Children and Families Family Services Division, Lauren Higbee, who is the deputy advocate of Vermont's Office of the Child Youth and Family Advocate, and Mercedes King, who is a youth leader from the Youth Development program. We'll end today's briefing with questions and discussions.

Morgan Crossman: In terms of a few logistics and housekeeping, as you're moving through today's session, this briefing is being recorded. And so the recording slides and the report, as well as a policy playbook to really put this information in context, will all be accessible through our website this afternoon. And then, after the briefing, we will have time for Q and A. And if you're listening today, we want to ask that you are putting questions in the chat and comments as well. And then, if you have questions, or you'd like to follow up with any member of the team, we are happy to meet with you after the briefing.

Morgan Crossman: Now, I want to transition to our data team. And I want to introduce Kitty Foster, who is Building Bright Futures' data coordinator. And she's going to lead us through the next part of today's briefing. Thank you for being with us.

Kitty Foster: Awesome. Thank you, Morgan. I will start us off by introducing our section on basic needs, which first takes a look at cost of living. The cost of living is an important factor impacting basic needs as a whole. And there are a lot of ways to look at this cost.

Kitty Foster: This year, we use the economic policy and the Economic Policy Institute's family budget calculator, which estimates the necessary annual income to meet the basic needs of the household with 2 adults and 2 children at $137,000. In this graph, you'll see that we compared that number with financial assistance that supports families to meet those basic needs with Reach Up at $12,000, the federal poverty level at $31,000, 2 adults working minimum wage at $57,000, and we also have the median income of 2023 at $105,000.

Kitty Foster: We've also included the cost of housing, which can be a significant part of that cost of living. We've noted that 48.9% of Vermont households who rent and 28.2% of households who own report paying more than 30% of their income on housing. The cost can vary by region across the state, where costs of housing can be about $10,000 in Essex County to $20,000 in Chittenden County.

Kitty Foster: Affordability and access to housing has become a really important issue to highlight in Vermont, as we've seen more coverage of what housing and homelessness look like across the State.  When looking at those that are unhoused, the impacts can be significant for any period of time that a child or family experiences this. We've used the definition of homelessness from the Mckinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act, which defines homelessness as a lack of fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.

Kitty Foster: We have seen a steady increase of children under 9 enrolled in schools who meet this definition of homelessness, from 197 in the 2019 to 2020 school year to 603 in this past school year, so that number's tripled. Additionally, the point in time count for people experiencing sheltered and unsheltered homelessness has shown a number of people in households with children under 18 also tripled from the from pre-pandemic. So that's 372 in January of 2020 to 1,125 in January of 2024.

Kitty Foster: Similar to housing, nutrition is also an essential requirement for children and families to thrive. In 2023, 17.8% of children in the Northeast lived in households with food insecurity, which is up from 14.6% in 2022. There are many ways for us to support child nutrition across the state, many of which are determined by eligibility for free and reduced lunch. And last year Vermont did begin to use eligibility data from Medicaid rather than requiring families to submit paperwork forms, and this allowed for there to be an increase in children that were eligible for free and reduced lunch. We have a 31% increase from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024 school year. Additionally, we know that the summer months are important to be able to support children and meals, and in June of 2024, Vermont joined the first cohort of states participating in summer EBT, and that contributed 4 million dollars in Federal funds to eligible children.

Kitty Foster: Alright, now I'll talk about health and well-being. Medicaid is one of the ways that children and families have health care costs covered, with 40.7% of children covered by Medicaid in 2023. Every year, individuals covered by Medicaid go through a redetermination process or review for eligibility, and during the pandemic there was a pause in this process across the country.

Kitty Foster: The Federal Government required states to restart this annual redetermination process in 2023, now known as Medicaid unwinding. And Vermont did take many steps to support enrollees through this process, including outreach suspensions of premiums and enhanced automatic renewals. There was a 13% decrease in enrollment between March 2023 and September 2024, and in addition there are almost 3,000 fewer children enrolled than before COVID-19, in September of 2019.

Kitty Foster: There have been multiple policy changes and initiatives at the Federal and State level to increase health insurance enrollment among children and families, including the Immigrant Health Insurance plan, which has been steadily increasing, as well as Vermont's expansion of postpartum Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months during the perinatal and postpartum period. There can be a lot of change for families, and there are a lot of factors that can impact children during this critical time.

Kitty Foster: Among the challenges during this time can include substance use during pregnancy, which can have a lifelong impact on on a child's ability to thrive. And in this chart here we've shown the percentage of substance use, including alcohol, cigarettes and other substances, which ranges from 9.9% to 12.4% for children born in 2022. This means that one or more substances were used during more than one in 10 pregnancies in Vermont.

Kitty Foster: In addition to substance use, we've highlighted perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, which can affect individuals during pregnancy and the postpartum period. In an analysis on perinatal depression between 2016 and 2022, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affected one in 4 individuals during pregnancy and postpartum. Non-birthing parents can also be at risk for anxiety [and] depression during this time, with a national prevalence of 10% of depression and 18% for anxiety.

Kitty Foster: There are many interventions that support birthing parents during this time, including the Developmental Understanding Legal Collaboration for Everyone known as DULCE, Strong Families, Vermont Home visiting, the Vermont Consultation and Psychiatric Access program, the support delivered campaign, and Doula services.

Kitty Foster: We've also highlighted mental health for children between the ages of 3 and 8, which include a diagnosis of ADHD, depression, anxiety, Tourette's syndrome, and/or a behavioral or conduct disorder between 2016 and 2017 and 2021-2022. There was a statistically significant increase in the proportion of Vermont children with one of these diagnoses from 9% to 18.4%.

Kitty Foster: Maintaining and supporting the workforce is an essential part of being able to support children with a mental health condition, and we've looked at turnover and vacancy rates for mental health program staff in Vermont. Although lower than the than peak rates during and following the pandemic, Vermont's designated Community Mental health agencies and specialized service agencies have had a high turnover rate and vacancy rate in 2024. The average turnover rate for mental health programs was 23%, and the average vacancy rate for mental health and substance use programs was at 15.8%, which ranges from about 5 to 23.3%.

Kitty Foster: Now, I'll pass it over to Dora, who will share a section on early childhood and elementary education for families, and she'll also share about our data spotlight on Vermont's child welfare system.

Dora Levinson (she/her): Thanks so much, Kitty. Act 76, Vermont's historic investment in early childhood education, became law in June 2023. Policy changes, investments, and required reports associated with the law have gone into effect since then, with final components slated for 2026. In large part due to eligibility expansions in the Childcare Financial assistance program occurring in April, June, and October, there has been an enrollment increase of almost 3,000 children between November 2023 and October 2024. Vermont now has the highest income eligibility threshold for childcare financial assistance in the country, with 575% of the federal poverty level. More information about Act 76 can be found on the Child Development Division's website, and in BBF's Act 76 monitoring report to the Legislature.

Dora Levinson (she/her): Since Act 166 passed in 2014, Vermont's Universal Pre-kindergarten education or UPK program has been seen as a national leader for its mixed delivery program for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds not yet enrolled in kindergarten. As can be seen here, while UPK enrollment dropped during the pandemic, it has now recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Even with this decrease during the COVID years, Vermont has consistently been ranked second in the country for access to UPK for three-year-olds since 2013.

Dora Levinson (she/her): As part of Act 76, the Pre-kindergarten Education Implementation Committee was created and produced 2 reports to the Legislature, including recommendations and a significant overview of gaps in understanding both the current system and implications for changes. While the committee's recommendations and potential changes to the current UPK program are likely to continue to be discussed in the 2025-2026 biennium, there are currently no imminent changes to the UPK mixed delivery system for both 3- and 4-year-olds.

Dora Levinson (she/her): We are excited to once again be able to report on pre-K assessments due to the staff capacity provided to the AOE data team through the Preschool Development Grant. As you can see here, there has been a positive trend of students meeting or exceeding expectations for social, emotional, and math assessments. In addition, in a new metric, capturing information for 3- to 5-year-olds from the national survey of children's health, Vermont students have the highest rate of school readiness in the country with 75.3% of children on track for school readiness compared to 64.6% for the country as a whole

Dora Levinson (she/her): Each year, 3rd graders are assessed for proficiency in math and language, arts or literacy. There's a wide range of proficiency by both geography and student characteristics. Data at the school district level can be found in the regional profiles in the second half of this report, along with other key data for Vermont as a whole. Only 31% of historically marginalized students score as proficient or above in literacy compared to 66% of historically advantaged students. While this discrepancy is not unique to Vermont, it is unacceptable. Given the future implications of a student's ability to thrive, and the diversity and health of our communities

Dora Levinson (she/her): Now onto the spotlight. Each year, The State of Vermont's Children: Year in Review contains a data spotlight. This year, we are focusing on Vermont's child welfare system because it is in crisis. The 2024 Federal Child and Family Services Review or CFSR found that only one out of 36 outcomes and factors was rated as a strength. Vermont's child welfare system is housed in the Family Services Division, part of the Department for Children and Families within the Agency of Human Services, and we will be referring to this division as DCF-FSD.

Dora Levinson (she/her): This data spotlight aims to spark conversation about our state's child welfare system. This is not a comprehensive review of the system, but instead focuses on several key factors, a few of which we will cover now.

Dora Levinson (she/her): Vermont statute mandates that "an individual working with children and families who reasonably suspects abuse or neglect of a child" must report the case to the child and abuse and neglect hotline. The list of individuals and the criteria are similar to other states. However, as can be seen here, Vermont's rate of intakes has been between 2.5 and 3 times higher than the national average, while the actual rate of child victimization consistently falls below the national average. The intent of the law is to protect children from abuse and neglect. However, there is no evidence that these laws are protecting children. In fact, there is evidence that the laws are deterring families in need of support from seeking resources to address their challenges because of this culture of surveillance.

Dora Levinson (she/her): The Vermont Child Welfare, Partnership, training, partnership and DCF-FSD are revising the required training for mandated reporters. As part of the revision, mandated reporters will be encouraged to reframe their role to mandated supporters. To that end, reporting to the child welfare intake line should be considered in the context of the multiple resources that can support the safety and well-being of children. The number for that child protection hotline is 806-49-5285.

Dora Levinson (she/her): DCF-FSD holds many roles and engages with families in multiple ways, including out of home protective custody in which a child is placed with a relative or foster family. On September 30th, there were 907 children and youth in out of home protective custody, 449 of whom were under the age of 9. This number has been falling after a sharp and sustained increase after the deaths of 2 young children in 2014, and subsequent policy and practice changes.

Dora Levinson (she/her): In this past year, Black children and youth accounted for 2.1% of the population in Vermont under 19, but entered state custody at a rate of 2.8%. Black or African American children also have the highest rate of placement, instability, or moves per 1,000 days.

Dora Levinson (she/her): Like many direct service providers and human services sectors, high vacancy and turnover rates among family services workers impacts the overall well-being of the system and the individuals that it serves. As can be seen here, vacancy and turnover rates have increased since the pandemic, with an 11.4% vacancy rate and a 16.1% turnover rate in 2024.

Dora Levinson (she/her): In addition to the creation of 2 new positions, the Family Services Division was just selected to receive long-term intensive technical assistance from the Federal Quality Improvement Center for Workforce analytics to identify Vermont's specific workforce challenges and support the implementation of strategies to strengthen the workforce.

Dora Levinson (she/her): Last but not least, Vermont's antiquated data system was built in 1983, one of the oldest in the country. The shortcomings of the system are directly responsible for preventing Vermont from accessing all federally available dollars and result in increased Federal financial penalties annually. While 7.8 million dollars has been allocated to a new comprehensive child welfare information system or CWIS, even with a 50% federal match, We are still well below the estimated 40 to 50 million dollars necessary for a new data system.

Dora Levinson (she/her): Vermont has made progress through establishing the Office of the Child, Youth and Family advocate, allocating some funding to a new data system, carrying out diligent recruitment and retention efforts for foster families, and providing workforce supports and investments. But there is significant work remaining. Our 2025 policy recommendations for some of that work include securing sufficient funding for a new CWIS and utilizing existing reports, strategies, and improvements to improvement plans to make data-informed programming and financing decisions.

Dora Levinson (she/her): I would now like to introduce Tanya LaChapelle, BBF's family leadership manager, who has been instrumental in developing this panel. Tanya.

Tanya LaChapelle: Thank you, Dora. I'm very grateful to be here introducing our panelists. Their unique perspectives of the child welfare system will connect the data and our understanding to lived experiences. First, we'll hear from Youth Leader Mercedes King.

Tanya LaChapelle: Next you'll hear from Lauren Higbee, deputy advocate at the Office of the Child, Youth and Family. And then, lastly, we will turn to Lindsey Barron, director of policy and planning for the State of Vermont's Department for Children and Families, Family Services Division.

Tanya LaChapelle: So first, I'm going to fully introduce Mercedes King. Mercedes is a child welfare advocate, looking to make positive change by sharing her experiences and giving advice and expertise to those that are willing to listen and learn. She is a youth leader at the Youth Development Program as well as a board member at Vermont's Office of the Child Youth and Family advocate and a board member at Northeast Family Institute.

Tanya LaChapelle: With that I'm going to turn it over to Mercedes, and she's going to tell us a little bit more about her relationship with the child welfare system, what she thinks is really working well for families, and what she thinks is key for the legislature to understand about supporting children and families in the child welfare system. All right, Mercedes.

Mercedes King: Hello! I'm Mercedes. I had a slideshow. If I can share my screen, is that possible? I think maybe it's only just like a guide to follow. But okay. Awesome.

Tanya LaChapelle: You should be able to do. You see this share screen option? Mercedes.

Mercedes King: Yeah, awesome. Let me know if you guys can see that.

Tanya LaChapelle: Looks good. You got it.

Mercedes King: Okay, awesome. It's still loading on my end. Okay, there we go. All right.

Mercedes King: So yeah, basically, I was already introduced. I'm a Mercedes King. I'm an advocate for child welfare in the State of Vermont. I'm yeah with the OCYFA. I'm also with NFI, Vermont Northeastern Family Institute, and I'm a leader for a youth leader for the Youth Advisory Board through the Youth Development Program.

Mercedes King: I went into system at about 7 years old, which was in like 2011, and I was adopted, and then I was put back into custody, and then I aged out. I dealt with a ton of hardship within the system, including religious discrimination taken off of false precedences, abuse in foster homes, programs and facilities. And I've experienced extreme trauma because of the decisions DCF made for me. I became an advocate at 18, because I don't wish what I went through on anyone so, and that's kind of just been my mission. The last couple of years has been advocating for the people that need it most.

Mercedes King: But even though I was, you know, in the system, when I was also, you know, in my adolescent years I'm mostly focusing on when I was a kid and kind of what helped and what didn't. So, so I have resources, the things that are, I think, going well for children, families, currently. I would say. One of the most helpful things for me was, I love NFI, that's the reason I work for NFI. They have some amazing community resources. And I loved their wraparound services program. So basically, they took me to do fun things like in the community, like I used to go like rock climbing and swimming. And like all this fun stuff like I had a worker, and then they would come into the home once a week and like discuss like it was like an hour to like couple hour meeting of like what was going well for everyone in the family, what wasn't. And it was just, it was a very supportive space. It was very clear, and it just felt like the communication was there, and it just was like good, I guess, as a younger kid to feel like it. It was just a very supportive and safe space. And I thought it was a great resource.

Mercedes King: And I think obviously I mean the health insurance, the DCF Is great. That was another one of my key points is I've never had to pay for anything, and I don't until I'm like 26, and honestly like that is such a relief, and it's been a relief, for you know me and my past families, so I'm extremely grateful for that.

Mercedes King: Next, I have some changes I'd like to share within the system. While there's a lot that I could say on this, I think I chose some key points to touch upon. Firstly, I think DCF visits should be more frequent and spontaneous. It's very hard to like, fake, or quickly clean things up or feed kids and clothe them properly when the visits are like frequent and spontaneous.

Mercedes King: I guess my goal with putting that out there is, you know, the house should be clean and up to code, and, you know, have food, decent clothing, you know, like it should be a safe, nurturing environment at all times. Not just, you know, when somebody's coming, right? And I think workers need to have in-depth conversation with the child and parent or parents separately and together, so that nobody's able feels like they have to hold back what they're saying or and there's no room for like misconstrued information. I think all this stuff's like important in making sure, like a child's living environment's actually safe, and that, you know, everybody's safe and happy.

Mercedes King: I believe that also the DCF Stipend that goes to foster families needs to be regulated more. I've experienced like malnourishment, and not having proper clothing and such to make a profit off of my stipend along with my other siblings.

Mercedes King: I think that also DCF workers should have to document their like day to day kind of in detail, and like more than. And I know we talked about the data system. And I think definitely, when that's in play, that'll be a lot easier for clear communication across the board. But anyways, and I think workers should be getting like a second or a 3rd decision, or even having to go to their supervisors about important decisions, like making crucial decisions for a child's case. Just because any little you know big, any big decision, I guess, can needs more than one opinion.

Mercedes King: And I also think that, I I wanted to highlight the fact that I feel like judges are appointed by DCF themselves, and I don't think that should be. I think that judges should be outside of DCF. I think that they should not be appointed by DCF.

Mercedes King: Because I actually went on WCAX this past year, because I was taken off of false precedences because of lies in court, which was kind of thought to believe that it had something to do with judges being appointed by DCF themselves. Like, you know, they completely like switched my mom's file with another woman's and just change the name to try to, you know, get us kids taken and stuff. And it was just a bunch of stuff that like it just smelled icky and kind of like very much in their control and not in a good way. And so I feel like when it comes to this decision of like legal matters like DCF shouldn't be allowed to appoint judges like within their little system and bubble.

Mercedes King: And obviously I feel like there's not enough transparency and clear communication throughout the system, and it directly harms the outcome of too many children's lives which obviously going back to the data system thing hopefully, that'll be helpful in the future. For 2. So yeah, I guess that kind of concludes my presentation. I don't know. I think we do questions at the end.

Tanya LaChapelle: Yes, we'll do questions at the end. Thank you, Mercedes, for in a very short speaking time, giving us so many specific examples and ideas. We really appreciate that. Thank you. All right. Next, we're going to turn to Lauren Higbee, who is the deputy advocate of Vermont's Office of the Youth, Child, and Family Advocate (OCYFA). She joined OCYFA in her current role after the office began in 2023. Prior to that she worked for the Department of Children and Families' Residential, Licensing and Special Investigations unit where she licensed, regulated and investigated residential treatment programs, adoption agencies and youth shelters.

Tanya LaChapelle: She transitioned to that role after seeing 2 runaway and homeless youth shelters and supporting young people transitioning out of foster care in Southern Vermont. She's held various roles in child welfare system in both Philadelphia and Chicago jurisdictions before returning home to Vermont. So Lauren, we'll give you the floor to tell so that you can tell us about your role, and what you think is working well for children and families as well as what's key for all of us to know.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): Wonderful. Thank you. Tanya. Hi everyone! Can everyone hear me? Just to check, I see nods. Good. Like Tanya said, I feel like it's important to startÑI'm from Vermont, even though I had to leave and come back from a farming family in Addison County and and have a bit of lived experience that's relevant to this work.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): I knew the Department for Children and Families, or DCF, when it was SRS, or social rehabilitation services, I think. And there are multiple struggles within my family of substance use, domestic violence, and we were unhoused at different points in a tent and doubled up with family members. We accessed concrete supports for our basic needs, like food stamps and TANF. And my mom worked her way through her undergrad career to become a teacher while on assistance.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And I'd say my biggest protective factors as a child were were the the really strong network of kinship support that I had, that we could access multiple family members flexibly and at different times. And then there were the concrete economic supports that I just listed.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And so I'm currently a deputy advocate at the Office of the Child Youth and Family Advocate. And Tanya explained my whole trajectory through that time, so I won't, I won't duplicate that. But really it was starting my master's of social degree in Chicago, and I just like randomly chose this internship at a foster care agency, and it was done. My fate was sealed, as they would say.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And then, I think, another important part that wasn't touched on. I think one of my favorite career points was in Philadelphia when I was able to create a foster care crisis program that was helping foster parents and kinship providers have 24/7 access to a human, a direct human for support. Whether that was transportation needs, or go bail a kid out of Kmart when they had retail theft. That was, that was a fun one. But that was really important for the recruitment and retention of foster parents at our small agency.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And to think about, to transition now to Vermont and child welfare. Right now, thinking what's working well, I'm going to try not to duplicate again what Dora has said, or even Mercedes and others. But I think is really important to to talk about this point in time for child welfare is that we have. As Dora said, 907 children and youth in DCF custody, which is the lowest it's been in years, right? So that is exciting to me in that the work that DCF and others and and the whole system is doing it is starting to move that dial. And that is important, right? That's that's the hope we're going to hold on to when we think of other changes to enact and to recommend. I think that number is also backed up by the number of unique child victims is also low and decreasing. And that's mirroring national trends. Right? So this collective work that we're doing is is starting to show in the data, which I always think is very exciting.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): Other things that are going well, I think, were highlighted, and even Mercedes mentioned it our ability to access Medicaid and Medicaid dollars, right? Vermont is able to do so. There are ways to expand that, but there are some concrete supports in times of need with TANF or a child-only grant for kinship providers.  I really appreciate that DCF is dedicated to a new kinship rule to support kin caregivers and potentially provide economic supports to kin caregivers that aren't licensed.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): Those are some really exciting opportunities and developments coming down. And then I also want to recognize DCF has been communicating with OCYFA regularly and answering our data requests and having regular meetings. And there's another interesting turn of events where we're starting to meet with technical assistance and KC Family programs together. And so that coordination of efforts, I think, is is a really fun opportunity and and shows the positive direction that hopefully we can continue to move in.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And then for the next transition of topic of what is key for legislators to know and really appreciated the phrasing of this, because I think our families, the children involved in the child welfare system, like Mercedes, like, already know what what changes we need and and where we need the system to go. And so what I think is key for legislators to know about child welfare in general is that continuous reform, continuous child welfare reform is a racial and social justice issue, and the act of constant reform is the act of racial and social justice, right? As we see desperate outcomes, and we see the over-representation of children of color in the system, and we know that the greatest indicator for child welfare involvement is experiencing poverty. We know that changing our system is then an act of racial and social justice. So that's number one, right? So that means that all changes we make have to be housed or couched, whatever the phrase would be, right, in that idea.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): Dora, you you mentioned it as well that Vermont has the highest number of hotline calls in the country. And so I won't belabor that point. But it is really interesting to consider that such a small state has this high volume of calls and really discerning what the impact of those high volumes are right is that DCF still has the responsibility to screen every call that they receive twice. Right? So you 1st have centralized intake screening it, and then a district screening it, and the amount of time that the number of hotline calls is taking up of DCF. I think is worth revisiting what our mandated reporter statute says, and changes that we could make in addition to changing training. And I think that also speaks to our office's concern about the various ways that families in Vermont are surveilled, and that is a very strong word to use. I recognize, and so I say it intentionally, right.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And so I think when we look at the findings of the Child and Family Service Review, what our office has seen in referrals and families and youth that have come to our office for help, It's really understanding what the impact of safety planning is on families, the use of alternative caregivers during investigations and assessments without due process protections. And then also we would hope we could get some more data and information about the use of conditional custody orders by those that are court involved, because that limited data is impacting our ability to fully understand how they are impacting permanency and well-being.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): I see I have 2Êminutes. So I'm almost there, I promise. I think another point to highlight in terms of data, and DCF has provided it to our office but it is important for this audience to understand, the use of emergency staffings for children, and we have seen children as young as 6 years old in a staffing situation which is sort of a segregated facility, or not even a facility space, without education or peer interaction and limited family contact, and no therapeutic treatment and days of rotating staff. And so that is something that it would be wonderful for BBF and OCYFA to partner on to really understand the scope of that practice for the younger population as well.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And just to highlight again, Vermont has the oldest child welfare case management system in the country, and that, as Mercedes said prior, a lot of the challenges DCF is facing, and the system as a whole is facing, could be addressed through implementing a comprehensive child welfare information system or CWIS. Many of the families we're talking to experience a lot of communication issues. So is a potential place where we could have communication between DCF and families. They could access services that way, Service referral coordination. Really, it's a way that DCF could build what they need. And we would just emphasize that any creation of a new case management system should be driven by families and children most impacted, and to have their voice at the forefront to really build the system that they need.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): We've discussed housing, so I think I'll move on from that. And I think one thing we haven't fully connected about was the children, and maybe you did, I think, Kitty, you did mentioning the mental health statuses, but also the disability status of children directly impacts case outcomes, and that has been communicated to us from a very high percentage of referrals to our office. And so parents, schools, providers, and children are saying there are not enough in-home supports, not enough community wraparound supports for children and parents with disabilities, and it has been really troubling to see how there is a lack of accommodation for those children and families in order to achieve permanency or case closure with DCF.

Lauren Higbee (she/her): And so I close to say, I noted these specific struggles and highlighted housing disabilities or it or information technology and staffing, to really name that the solution cannot all be on DCF. Or family Services Division. And so I can't say that enough. And that's not as a former DCF Employee. But it's a child youth centered and family centered practitioner, really understanding Vermont system that it will require all departments at the agency of human services, the Agency of Education, the Agency of Digital Services, the legislature, and the governor to really continue to move the dial as we have started. So I'll stop there.

Tanya LaChapelle: Wonderful. Thank you, Lauren, for making all those connections for us. Our final panelist, we're going to turn to Lindsey Barron, who joined the role as director of policy and planning at DCF-FSD in October, and there she oversees and supports policy. The policy and planning leadership team which consists of policy and legislative communications, quality assurance systems of care, team and practice subject matter acts, experts. So, Lindsay, we're going to give the floor to you and allow you to tell us about what you think is working for children and families, and and what's key for all of us to know.

Lindsay Barron: Sure. Thank you so much for the time and space. Like others, I'll start by just sharing a little bit of information about myself, and how I came to work in this field.I'm originally from Pennsylvania, and I got my education both my bachelor's and my master's degree in Pennsylvania, and I studied policy, analysis and administration, and so I always had some idea that I wanted to end up in a policymaking or a policy type of place.

Lindsay Barron: However, as I was reflecting on what called me here to this, specifically, I go back much further into my childhood. So I grew up as an only child. However, my mom's brother became a part of my family very early on. He had down syndrome, and he had a lot of developmental needs, and far exceeded what my grandmother was able to provide and care for him day in and day out. And so he became a part of my household. And throughout my upbringing I look back, and I I see things differently today, you know, doing the work that I do than I may have previously. And you know, I realized, growing up, that there was conversations about a daycare that he had attended during business hours, and this was a regular regulated facility, and there was some abuse that he experienced in that setting, and I think that was the moment that really planted the seed. That sort of shaped the entire future of my trajectory and career, and where I would ultimately end up.

Lindsay Barron: And so I've been with Vermont, DCF Family services for approximately 13 going on 14 years now. Up until the last 2 months that's primarily been within a policymaking and a policy writing type of role. I'm very, very new to the director of policy and planning role. But I think what I'm what I'm bringing to it is some of the spirit of collaboration that's been noted already. I have the voices of the family services workforce in the back of my mind.

Lindsay Barron: Highlighting that, you know, we may be the child protection aspect of the system. But whenever we zoom out and we think about who makes up the child welfare system as a whole, that's all of our community providers, that is our, you know, kinship and natural supports. That's our schools, our mental health providers, that's, you know, early education and and childcare settings. It's all of the prevention related entities and tools that exist within our community that we need to hold together, to care for and support the families and kids that we serve.

Lindsay Barron: So I guess now I'll make my slight pivot to what I believe is working well. Actually, in order to prepare for this panel, I put a message out to the whole division that I work within just querying voices and social workers to speak to what they think is working well for families and children, and where they see as the biggest challenges. And a lot of what I was planning to share their voices really just help to reinforce, reinforce. And so I want to give some thanks to them.

Lindsay Barron: Hands down what they highlighted and what I agree is is our greatest strength, is our use of kinship care, or partnering with relatives, family members, fictive kin. Really, the folks who are known to kids and families, prior to us having an open case, or us having system involvement in any capacity. Folks are really leaning in to creativity, to how to keep folks, or how to keep kids connected to their families of origin, thinking through creative strategies of, you know, perhaps a person isn't a placement or or isn't a respite option. But what's the connection to their culture, their family history, extracurriculars, and other activities that people known to the child can provide to them?

Lindsay Barron: And I think you know, this might come up a little bit in the challenges portion of the discussion, but I think sometimes where things become challenging, it causes us to lean into other areas which really become our strength. And so I think about our system, and how it really hasn't looked the same pre-pandemic as it does post-pandemic. And I don't think that's unique to Vermont. I don't think that's unique even to the United States. I think we see those types of trends internationally, where all child welfare systems, all mental health serving agencies and so on, just looked drastically different, pre-covid as compared to present day. And so with wait lists being longer or with other system deficits, I think we've really leaned into people and partnership and relationships as a means to support families and do good work.

Lindsay Barron: And so a couple examples that were shared with me as some of those strong partnerships that folks feel excited and proud of is our partnership with Lund through our regional partnership program. There's Lund Staff that partner with our family services workers to provide some substance use assessment and case management and support. And so that was, that's viewed as a strong strength within our work. Folks also highlighted that substance use treatment providers are offering accessible options for parents working towards reunification.

Lindsay Barron: Folks highlighted our child and family support contracts offered through NFI, which had a shout out earlier. So both NFI and Easter Seals provide those services, and folks really shared positive things about, you know, supporting parent-child contact, supporting family-finding efforts and connecting folks with their kin, and the facilitation of family-centered and family-led and driven meetings and decision-making. So again, thinking about those settings as not only a means of of supporting the case and sort of where we're at, but also sharing decision-making and sharing power with families.

Lindsay Barron: See? And then I also just have to note that I think another strength that we are bringing to the table is is just the dedication of our workforce. One doesn't typically get into this field or get into this work without something truly driving them, and a passion for supporting kids and families.

Lindsay Barron: And transitioning into the challenges, I think that some of what was already named is is spot on, and I would agree with some of the most pressing issues that Vermonters are facing in general. I think we see that in an exacerbated capacity. So all Vermonters, experiencing issues related to affordability or economic security, childcare issues, mental health, etc.

Lindsay Barron: I think once you have, you know, thinking about where our system becomes involved when you have an accepted report of abuse or neglect, even thinking about the hierarchy of needs, where if housing is insecure, or if there's a substance use disorder in place or domestic violence as a concern, and so on and so forth, that just really ramps up the experiences that Vermonters have in general.

Lindsay Barron: And so something else that we see as a challenge is a lack of developmental services for children, limited resources for kids with disabilities, long wait lists for autism spectrum disorder evaluations or specialized therapists and insufficient in-home supports and resources. Also, noting that while our network of substance use treatment and access is pretty robust, in Vermont some of the long-term inpatient rehabilitative options are next to nonexistent, and that families could probably benefit from some more options there.

Lindsay Barron: And then I know I'm right at time, or need to wrap up immediately. But just noting I mentioned this earlier. But some of the the wait list that exists within the mental health system within other systems and partner agencies where often it feels like our workers are sort of holding together the coordination of supports and services that often there should be other partners in the community holding with us, and, like the turnover and staff just across agencies makes that really difficult, because DCF is often the one system that can't say "No," we're always at the table. And despite the caseload, or despite how many families we're serving, we're always present. Thank you.

Tanya LaChapelle: Thank you, Lindsay. Thank you so much. Thank you to all of our panelists. We are going to move into closing remarks, and we just want to remind you that you were invited to enter in the chat your questions, and your thoughts.

Morgan Crossman: All right, thank you all. And a huge, huge thank you to Mercedes, Lauren, and Lindsey. You know one of the things that Building Bright Futures is really committed to is sharing experiences, and the fact that numbers alone can't tell the full story. So in terms of thinking about our panel and thinking about what makes the work real and helps folks understand the needs and challenges of our system, it's so important to have this series of panelists come in and share their time and their expertise with us. So thank you so much.

Morgan Crossman: I also want to take a moment to thank our national sponsor National Life, and they have supported the publication of this report alongside our state agency leaders in the State of Vermont, and several private philanthropic partners. So thank you for supporting this work.

Morgan Crossman: Let's take a couple of minutes before we close to reflect on the state of Vermont's children as we enter 2025. You've heard a lot of statistics and some really powerful experiences, both in successes and the challenges and outcomes and service provision for Vermont's kids. So when I think about what we should be really proud of, we have a significant increase in the enrollment in childcare financial assistance program. We're leading the country in prioritizing affordability and accessibility to childcare.

Morgan Crossman: In that same early education lens, we're consistently leading the country in equitable access to universal prekindergarten education for threes and fours. We're also seeing a positive trend for those same 4-year-old children where we're seeing them meet or exceed expectations in math and social emotional development.

Morgan Crossman: So again, even though we're hearing some staggering statistics in other areas, we do have a lot to be proud of, and where we're leading the way. We do have a responsibility to examine some of these other data trends and address some really important challenges. Some of those that you heard today are the striking increase of children who are homeless.

Morgan Crossman: We also are seeing significant increases in children with social, emotional, and mental health conditions over time, high rates of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, really low rates of 3rd graders being proficient or above in reading, and that those rates are much lower for historically marginalized children. And as you just heard from our panelists, and when we're thinking about the the rates of actual child victimization, while we have really low rates consistently following below the national average of actual child victimization, our surveillance practices and laws are really deterring families who are in need of support from seeking those resources.

Morgan Crossman: And, lastly, we have seriously antiquated data systems that are actually hindering our ability to monitor the systems and improve outcomes and meet the needs of our kids. So as you're thinking about the coming session, as you're thinking about your role in the system, our data is showing us what those challenges are and what we need to prioritize for the coming year.

Morgan Crossman: What we are choosing to prioritize as a system in Vermont indicates what we value. So I'm inviting you to see this as your collective responsibility to use data, to use this data, to reach out to colleagues who have access to data and to talk with families. Because that's what's going to allow us to make change for kids and families. Thank you for being with us today. That concludes today's briefing, and we invite you to stay for questions and answers with our panelists.