State advisory tells Senate panel Vermont has early-childhood gains but needs data, funding and workforce supports

MONTPELIER, Vt., March 14 — Dr. Morgan Crossman, executive director of Building Bright Futures, told the Vermont Senate Education Committee on March 14 that the state has made measurable gains in child-care affordability and prekindergarten access but needs better data systems, continued public investment and workforce supports to sustain those gains.

Crossman told senators that Building Bright Futures, the state’s early‑childhood state advisory, is charged under state and federal law to hold the early‑childhood strategic plan and monitor the system; she cited the Federal Head Start Act, Act 104 and Title 33, Chapter 46 as legal touchpoints for the council’s role. “I am not a lobbyist or an advocacy organization,” Crossman said, describing the group’s role as providing data and advice to the legislature and administration rather than advocating specific policies.

Why it matters: the advisory’s monitoring work feeds the legislature’s decisions on school and family supports. Crossman said gaps in data and strained local services mean lawmakers risk losing early gains unless the state invests in monitoring, infrastructure and staffing.

Major points presented

- Gains and scale: Crossman said Vermont has increased enrollment in child‑care financial assistance and described the state as “leading the country in access to universal pre‑K for 3 and 4 year olds,” defined in Vermont as 10 hours per week for 35 weeks for 3‑, 4‑ and non‑kindergarten 5‑year‑olds in mixed public and private settings. She said the state added about 170 infant slots and that, for some families, cost reductions have been dramatic; she cited an instance of families saving substantial sums on child care after benefit changes.

- Continued problems: Crossman described rising numbers of unhoused families with young children, and an increase in children with social‑emotional and mental‑health needs who enter school “not ready to learn.” She gave an account of volunteering at a motel shelter in Rutland and encountering multiple families with young children and significant care needs.

- Workforce and program capacity: Crossman said the early‑childhood workforce — including pre‑K teachers, paraprofessionals and support staff — faces shortages and pay issues, and that many districts will face infrastructure and transportation needs if pre‑K hours expand. She warned that some paraprofessional positions that currently provide supports could be lost in the coming years without stable funding.

- Data and systems gaps: Crossman said Vermont lacks integrated databases that would allow officials to count the total number of children served across public and private programs and to track outcomes longitudinally. She described having to synthesize data from “over 40 different data stores” across agencies and community providers and urged investments in integrated monitoring.

- Pre‑K implementation findings: Crossman summarized work by the Pre‑Kindergarten Education Implementation Committee (PEIC) and the state advisory. The committee recommended four main directions: maintain access for 3‑year‑olds, pursue expansion beginning with 4‑year‑olds (including consideration of full‑day 4‑year‑old programs), preserve a mixed‑delivery model that includes community providers, and create stronger data and cost analyses to understand true program costs and capacity needs. Crossman said committee members generally agreed expansion and higher quality workforce standards were priorities, but that the committee faced an “unrealistic” timeline.

- Grants and field investments: Crossman said Building Bright Futures administers the Vermont Early Childhood Fund and related grantmaking; she reported the organization has administered “more than $2,600,000” in grants to communities and has distributed funding to more than 42 organizations to preserve slots, expand developmental assessments and fund locally prioritized projects. She also said roughly $2.8 million of funds are passed through to local programs in a typical year.

Funding request and next steps

Crossman asked the committee to note that Building Bright Futures has asked the legislature’s Appropriations Committee for a $322,000 increase to its base state allocation to support monitoring and accountability work. She said House Human Services had included the request as a high priority in its letter to Appropriations; the request will move through the standard appropriations process and has not been acted upon by the Senate at this hearing. Crossman also described Building Bright Futures’ overall budget mix as heavily federal (she said about 75% federal funding) with the organization raising additional private funds; she said the advisory’s staff is 17 people and that most program dollars are passed through to local providers.

What the committee asked and what remains open

Senators pressed about regulation, cost drivers and whether different levers (regulatory change, funding models, or other actions) might produce better outcomes; Crossman said the advisory’s role is to measure impact and lay out options and tradeoffs rather than prescribe a single funding mechanism. Committee members raised the need to hear from students, teachers and principals in future hearings; the panel discussed scheduling public and district‑level testimony to inform policy decisions.

Ending note

Crossman said the state advisory will continue monitoring Act 76 implementation and the early‑childhood strategic plan update planned this year, and urged the legislature to identify the specific data it needs to evaluate expansion options. The appropriation request will be considered by Appropriations; no formal vote occurred during the March 14 session.