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State briefing: Act 76 investments lifted family childcare reimbursements and slowed losses; infant care gap remains
Summary
Officials told the Education Committee that Vermont's Act 76 investments and higher reimbursement rates helped stabilize family child care and expand capacity, though infant care remains the largest unmet need; First Children's Finance and DCF cited grants, loans and business supports.
State officials and nonprofit partners briefed the Education Committee on Jan. 28 about family child care and rural child care capacity in Vermont, describing both long-term declines in family child care homes and recent stabilization tied to Act 76 investments.
Janet McLaughlin, deputy commissioner with the Department for Children and Families' Child Development Division, told the committee Vermont has slightly more than 1,000 regulated childcare programs: roughly 509 center-based programs, about 401 registered or licensed family childcare programs and about 150 regulated after-school programs. She said the state's regulated capacity is roughly 33,000 slots across program types.
McLaughlin explained two licensing tiers for family childcare homes: registered family childcare homes (smaller, up to six…
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