BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) Hundreds hit Church Street to raise awareness about the shortage of Vermont childcare.
Let's Grow Kids is a campaign dedicated to the importance of childcare and the impact it has on development. To promote its message, organizers held a parade which ended at the top of Church Street, where local musicians performed a song and dance. One parent we spoke with said she thought about childcare early, and encouraged others to do the same.
"We booked our childcare provider before we even knew we were pregnant because I knew it would be really difficult to find a good child educator," said Emily Vigneault.
"We all know that it works. We know that child care is really important, to support the healthy development of kids and were saying it's essentially time for us to start investing in our youngest citizens and make sure they get a strong start in life," said Robyn Freedner-Maguire of Let's Grow Kids.
According to Let's Grow Kids, nearly half of ALL infants and toddlers that need care do not have access to it and nearly 80% have no access to high quality programs.