Committee discusses future funding for Vermont Youth Council; agrees to send letter to federal delegation

The Senate Committee on Government Operations on Feb. 19 heard from Elisa Stahlberg, director of the Division of Family and Child Health at the Vermont Department of Health, about the funding and operations of the Vermont Youth Council and discussed steps the committee could take if federal funding changed.

The department "provides the administrative, technical, and legal assistance to assist the council directed activities," Stahlberg told the committee, and said the Youth Council is financed through the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, also known as Title V.

Title V is a federal-state partnership, Stahlberg told the committee: "Title V is a federal state partnership, and Vermont must match $3 for every $4 of federal share." She said the Department's current Title V budget is about $2,900,000 (including the state match) and that funds for the Youth Council are distributed via a subrecipient grant to Vermont After School.

Under the grant to Vermont After School, Stahlberg said, the organization coordinates and co-facilitates monthly State Youth Council meetings for 28 council members, coordinates recruitment and applications, provides training on state policies, helps develop policy proposals, acts as a liaison to the Legislature and Governor's Office, organizes youth camp and compensation, and supports public input activities. "Our budget, the Vermont After School, in fiscal year 25 was $119,000 and it includes the, the youth council stipends, which is about, 47,000," Stahlberg said.

Committee members asked whether those dollars are federal or state cannabis-related funds. Senator Allison Clarkson (Windsor District) noted she "thought it was mostly cannabis money, and that's state money. So that shouldn't be a federal issue." Stahlberg replied that the Youth Council funding described to the committee comes from federal dollars but said she did not know whether Vermont After School receives separate cannabis-designated funds and that the department would "help get the answer to that." The department also said it will clarify stipend amounts and related line-item details for the committee.

Stahlberg said the department has an agreement with Vermont After School through fiscal year 25 and "we have budgeted for fiscal year 26, but we don't have our federal award yet." She warned that "if there are reductions in that funding, we would have to examine our budget and determine if we could continue to fund the council," and that securing sustained funding would require a specific appropriation because an appropriation "is not currently in the governor's FY '26 put in."

Committee members discussed practical next steps. A member observed the program's repeal/sunset date and asked for confirmation; a committee participant (Amy, recorded as speaking) reported she "just looked up the repeal date for you. It's 02/01/2026." The committee agreed to send a letter to the federal delegation requesting support for continued Title V funding and to ask Legislative Council to draft a straightforward provision to change the program's effective/sunset date if needed. One lawmaker said, "We should send a letter as a committee. Okay. To to Senator Vander, Welch, and Tom Griffin and Ballant who are definitely doing everything they can to support Vermont after school." Stahlberg agreed to provide the committee with requested clarifications by email.

The committee did not record a formal vote on funding or on a bill during this discussion. Members framed the likely next steps as sending a letter of support to federal delegates and drafting a procedural committee bill to alter the sunset date if the committee decides to proceed. Stahlberg also told the committee the Health Department's legal team is reviewing federal grant materials and that project officers have requested reviews "because there's a temporary restraining order on the federal freeze as it relates to the, executive orders." The department said it is monitoring developments.

The committee left the item with a set of follow-ups: the department will confirm the stipend-per-member amounts, confirm the program's current sunset/repeal date in writing to committee staff, and provide the name of the larger federal block grant to be included in a committee letter to Vermont's federal delegation. Committee staff indicated they will ask Legislative Council to draft a short change to the effective date if the committee decides to move that option forward.

The committee moved on to the next scheduled matters after the Youth Council discussion.