2025 Child Care Agenda
In 2025, we must build on our child care progress. Our top policy priorities this year are to continue to make child care more affordable for families and to strengthen the early childhood education workforce.
Affordable, accessible, quality child care is essential to Vermont. It allows parents to work and prepares our youngest children for school. In the first year since Act 76 was passed, through new, long-term public investment, 1,000 child care spaces have been created and 90 programs have opened, closing gaps in child care deserts across the state. Act 76 has provided thousands of families access to reduced child care costs and has increased pay for early childhood educators, giving programs the ability to better recruit and retain staff and expand capacity. This is strengthening our economy, helping businesses grow, and making Vermont more affordable for working families.
In 2025, we must build on our child care progress. Our top policy priorities this year are to continue to make child care more affordable for families and to strengthen the early childhood education workforce.
Vermont’s child care goals:
- All Vermont families who need it have access to affordable, quality child care.
- Families spend no more than 10% of their household income on child care.
- Every child has access to skilled, well-prepared, and professionally compensated early childhood educators.
Take the 2025 Child Care Action Pledge
2025 Policy Priorities
Continue Progress from Act 76:
- Ensure the long-term public investment created by Act 76 is funded so that it continues expanding child care access and lowering costs for Vermonters.
Increase Affordability and Access for Families:
- Expand access for families to the state’s child care tuition assistance program (CCFAP).
- Increase funding for child care programs, so they can keep growing capacity by recruiting and retaining more educators and staff.
Strengthen the Early Childhood Educator Workforce:
- Establish a professional state license to practice for early childhood educators to support the growth of a diverse, well-prepared, well-supported workforce.
- Implement new tools for recruiting and retaining early childhood educators to continue growing capacity and improving quality in the child care system.
- Expand career pathway programs.
We have come so far in our campaign to solve Vermont’s child care crisis. The early results of Act 76 are positive proof that when we work together, we can make a difference. But, there’s more to do to build an equitable child care system that works for families, businesses and strengthens our economy.
Public investment in child care is working. Let’s build on this progress together.