Vermont Budget Fiscal Year 2010

What's The Issue? Because Vermont's fiscal year starts on July 1st, the Governor and legislators begin putting together a state budget at the beginning of each legislative session. The recession and projected revenue shortfalls presented legislators with hard decisions about cutting services, raising revenue, or both. They passed a budget at the end of the legislative session that did include slight revenue increases, but not enough to prevent serious cuts to essential services.

What Happened? The Governor vetoed the budget on June 1st, after offering a counter-proposal, which reflected even deeper cuts to human services and burdened the Education Fund. Legislators overrode the veto in a special session on June 2nd by a 2/3rd majority (vote: 100 - 50), allowing the legislature's budget to go into law.

Pre-Kindergarten - Act 62

What's The Issue? In 2007, the legislature passed Act 62, which allows school districts to use public education dollars to pay for pre-kindergarten programs in the school or in partnership with private centers. A cap, however, limited the number of 3 and 4 year olds that could be served.

What Happened? An amendment was added to a high school graduation bill that would have removed the cap in Act 62. In addition, a provision about quality would have changed requirements for licensed teachers at pre-k programs. Despite heavy calls of support from parents, child care providers and school administrators, both items were removed in the final days of the session.

Child Care Subsidy Program

What's The Issue? Vermont's Child Care Subsidy Program is designed to help lower-income families pay for the high costs of child care. However, the income eligibility guidelines for the program are set at 2000 standards, excluding many families (for example, 2 parents working full time at $8 an hour do not qualify, yet child care for both an infant and pre-school age child can exceed $13,000 a year).

What Happened? Governor Douglas' Child Care Initiative provided $5 million to improve the quality and affordability of child care, allowing an increase in the subsidy guidelines from 1999 to 2000 levels to go into affect as approved by the legislature in 2008.

Secondly, the Department for Children and Families (DCF) issued a proposal that would bring the income eligibility guidelines up to 2009 standards and increase the reimbursement rates to providers. DCF is taking public input regarding the proposed changes. Parents and early childhood professionals are encouraged to attend meetings scheduled from June 3-24th. http://dcf.vermont.gov/cdd/pay_child_care/subsidy/changes.

Federal Stimulus Funds

What Happened? Following up on President Obama's pledge to invest in early education, the U.S. Congress included care care funding in the federal economic stimulus package that passed in February. Vermont policymakers are deciding how to use federal stimulus funds for early childhood services, such as the quality set-aside for infants/toddlers in the Child Care and Development Block Grant and Title I funds that flow through local school districts.

Building Bright Futures

What's The Issue? Building Bright Futures (BBF) was established with an Executive Order in 2006 under Governor Douglas. It has served as a statewide public-private partnership that supports an integrated system of early education and health services for families with children under the age of six.

What Happened? In the first of several budget rescissions, the Joint Fiscal Committee eliminated BBF's 12 Regional Directors as of March 2009. This decision was devastating to early childhood service providers, as the Directors played a critical coordinating role for local services, from early intervention services to playgroups.

In response, legislators, BBF State Council and Kids Are Priority One Coalition sought to establish BBF as a permanent entity in state statute. Representatives Peter Peltz (Woodbury), Mike Mrowicki (Putney), Bill Frank (Underhill) and Scott Orr (Charlotte) introduced H.354, which would have created a task force to develop enabling legislation for introduction in the 2010 legislative session. House Education Committee chair Joey Donovan (Burlington) championed this bill, although it did not move.

Paid Sick Days

What's The Issue? Parents shouldn't have to worry about losing pay or their job when forced to take the time off from work to recover from illness or to care for a sick family member. But, 42% of Vermont's private sector workforce does not have one single paid sick day.

What Happened? Representative Sarah Edwards (Brattleboro) introduced H. 382, that would have provided for employees to accumulate time up to seven days to be used for physical or mental illness or injury; obtaining professional diagnostic, preventative, routine, or therapeutic health care for the employee; caring for a sick or injured child or parent; or obtaining services for the employee or the employee's child or parent.

Campaign 2010: Paid Sick Days for Vermont would ensure that all working Vermonters are guaranteed paid sick days. Members of the Paid Sick Days Coalition include: Vermont Livable Wages Campaign - Peace and Justice Center, Kids Are Priority One Coalition, Vermont Commission on Women, Working Vermont; Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Green Mountain Chapter - Older Women's League, Vermont Workers' Center, Voices for Vermont's Children.