We are supporting Advocacy that improves the lives of Vermont's young children, families, and providers
The Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance is a statewide coalition of early childhood professionals and providers, parents, and employers working together to improve public policies that impact young children from birth to age eight on issues of health, safety, food security, economic security, and early care and education.
2023 Legislative Agenda Results
The 2023 legislative session saw a return to fully in-person work, and resulted in a range of outcomes for the state’s early childhood community. Some issues on the Alliance’s Agenda had tremendous (and even historic) successes, while others had disappointing results.
In the end, progress was made on many of the issues on the Alliance’s 2023 Legislative Agenda. While the impacts of the pandemic continue and many elements of the early childhood system are struggling, the added investments made this session will support many key programs. Most importantly, thousands of children and families will benefit as a result, now and for many years to come.
The Governor vetoed a number of bills passed this year, including the FY24 Budget and the child care bill. The Legislature overrode the vetoes on these and other bills in their June veto session. During that session the Legislature also passed compromise language to extend aspects of the state’s emergency housing program, which were included as part of another bill that passed during the one day session. See below for more details.
Looking ahead, Alliance members will be hard at work over the summer and fall building support for ongoing campaigns, tracking implementation of programs that have passed, and preparing a full slate of issues for advocacy in ’24.
2023 Legislative Agenda
The Alliance’s Legislative Agenda is crafted annually in partnership with early childhood organizations that are advancing policy solutions through the legislative process related to health, safety, food security, economic security, and early care and education. The issues were selected by the Alliance’s 21-member Steering Committee. One or more lead organizations will direct legislative and advocacy strategy on each issue.
More information about the agenda and the lead organizations can be found here.
Monthly Equity Discussion Group
Many early childhood community members have renewed their personal and professional commitment to antiracism and diversity, equity, and inclusion – and want to engage in sustained learning. To support this, the Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance and its partners are convening a monthly, salon-style Equity Discussion Group via Zoom.
The next session is coming up on Friday, October 6 at 1:00 pm. We will be discussing decolonizing history, especially surrounding Columbus Day and Thanksgiving. Origin myths are a powerful tool but obscure and distort the history of Indigenous people and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. The discussion will be led by Jeff Benay, the Director of Indian Education Programs for Franklin County.
You can contact Taylor, Outreach Manager, at taylor@vecaa.org if your organization would like to co-host one of these events, or if you have suggested topics or discussion materials to offer.
More information about past salons including downloadable resources can be found here.
2023 Early Childhood Day at the Legislature
The 29th Annual Early Childhood Day at the Legislature (ECDL) was on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Montpelier! The issues on our 2023 Legislative Agenda played central roles at this year’s ECDL.
Despite the state being ravaged by an intense winter storm just before the Day, ECDL’23 was a success! While we are sorry that many couldn’t make it, we thank the over 120 community leaders, early childhood service providers, early educators, and others for attending morning and afternoon sessions, networking, and meeting with the over 60 legislators who joined us for our Constituent/Legislator Lunch.
Stay tuned to the Alliance’s newsletters, Facebook page, and website for more details.
We look forward to seeing you next year in-person on Wednesday, March 13, 2024!
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– MAIN STREET ALLIANCE