Building Bright Futures briefs Human Services committee on early-childhood gains, data gaps and $320,000 funding request

Dr. Morgan Crossman, executive director of Building Bright Futures, told the Vermont House Committee on Human Services on Jan. 31 that the nonprofit is statutorily charged to monitor and advise on early-childhood services and is seeing measurable early gains from recent policy changes — but that persistent data and capacity shortfalls limit the state's ability to implement and assess further change.

Crossman told the committee that Building Bright Futures is "named in state and federal statute as your primary advisor on children prenatal to age 8 and their families in the state of Vermont," and described the organization's network of more than 500 partners, 12 regional councils and seven strategic-plan committees that inform its monitoring and recommendations.

Why it matters: Crossman said the group's monitoring work feeds the legislature and agencies with both quantitative indicators and family- and community-level qualitative information intended to guide policy and implementation. The presentation covered Act 76 monitoring, the prekindergarten implementation committee's recommendations, capacity and affordability trends, and a request for a $320,000 base allocation to sustain Building Bright Futures' statutory monitoring and advisory role.

Key findings and progress

- Building Bright Futures reported early, measurable changes since Act 76 took effect: an increase of roughly 170 infant slots and a reported drop in co-pays for about 550 families who no longer have a co-pay under the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP). Crossman also said the…