Witness warns Essex County preschool supply differs sharply by measure; supports S.214 to follow children where capacity exists

Erin Roche, Vermont director of First Children's Finance, told the House Education committee that the state’s child-care data show big gaps between licensed capacity and full‑time universal pre‑K seats in some rural places, using Essex County as an example.

Roche said First Children's Finance — a national nonprofit that opened a Vermont office three years ago — provides business training and consulting at no charge to child-care and pre-K providers under a state grant and conducts supply-and-demand research her office uses to advise policymakers. "We offer all of our services at no charge through a grant from the state of Vermont," she said.

Why it matters: The bill S.214 would allow funding and placement flexibility to serve preschool children in geographically isolated areas. Roche told lawmakers the organization’s 2026 cost and supply‑demand analyses include county and municipal breakdowns that show local shortfalls are often masked by countywide totals.

Roche walked lawmakers through the Essex County data the committee was reviewing. The committee noted 111 preschool‑aged children and a total licensed capacity of 104 — numbers that suggest near parity — but Roche cautioned that those totals conceal the number of full‑time UPK slots. "In Essex County, the total universal pre‑K licensed capacity in full‑time settings is 2," she said, calling that figure "a little bit of a different picture." She added that UPK typically provides 10 hours a week on the K–12 calendar, which may not meet some families' needs for full‑time care.

Roche said her earlier concern about the bill was its original broad language, which she feared might allow sending children out of state for services; she told the committee the current draft is more specific to Essex County and appears to have addressed her earlier worries. "The first time I read it, I wasn't actually sure that it referred to Essex County," she said, noting subsequent drafts clarified the scope.

She urged lawmakers to use the written testimony and the linked supplemental reports — including the 2026 child-care supply-and-demand gap analysis and a characteristics-of-preschool-capacity report — as they consider S.214. Roche also noted First Children's Finance administers an infant-and-toddler capacity-building grant for Vermont and operates philanthropically funded pilot projects to test affordability and sustainability solutions.

The committee did not record any vote or formal action on S.214 in the transcript and moved on to consider S.227 later in the session.