Advanced Vermont asks Senate committee for $600,000 to expand My Future VT career‑navigation services

Advanced Vermont asked the Senate Education Committee on March 31 for $600,000 in base funding to sustain and expand My Future VT, the nonprofit’s Vermont‑specific career‑education planning platform and navigator‑training program.

For the record, Tom Chen, executive director of Advanced Vermont, told senators the group’s work centers on “career navigation” — an organizing system that packages programs such as dual enrollment, career and technical education (CTE) and work‑based learning so students and adults can learn options, make informed choices and take concrete steps toward education or employment. “Our vision is that every high school student will graduate and plan for their next steps,” Chen said.

Why it matters: Chen said gaps in planning leave many students “floundering” after high school, creating statewide problems such as stalled ambitions, underemployment and a workforce that does not meet employer demand. He argued that a coordinated system — information, credentials, social capital, wraparound supports and enabling policy — will reduce those gaps.

What Advanced Vermont presented: Chen described My Future VT as a Vermont‑focused tool where users can explore careers, compare postsecondary programs and locate support services. He said the site includes verified program listings and a database of education‑support services intended to be place‑based and Vermont‑specific. Chen also outlined the organization’s “Graduate with a Plan” work: a navigator‑training framework, scope and competencies for grades 6–12, curriculum activities, and plans to train roughly 300 adults this year with an estimated reach to about 1,500 students.

Usage and evidence: Chen said My Future VT has attracted about 160,000 users since the site’s launch five years ago and that user engagement (dwell time and clickthroughs) has increased year‑over‑year; he also cited a survey in which nine of 10 users said the site “looks good” and that using it led them to take a next step (for example, improving a plan, applying for a job or enrolling in a program). Chen offered to supply committee members with a more detailed demographic and survey breakdown by email.

Funding request and context: Advanced Vermont asked the committee for $600,000 in recurring state support. Chen said the organization received $150,000 from the legislature last year and $350,000 the year before; he added that the House provided a $200,000 one‑time appropriation. Chen said a recent two‑year federal grant — described in the hearing as totaling roughly $300,000 (about $150,000 per year) — will not continue, increasing the need for state base funding.

Committee reaction: Senators welcomed the presentation but pushed for clearer metrics and value‑for‑money. One senator (identified in the record as Senator Hill) voiced strong support for making the program a funding priority while emphasizing the need for accountability. Committee members asked whether the Agency of Education (AOE) or Department of Labor could absorb parts of the work; Chen said partnerships are strong and conversations are ongoing, but that no other organization currently appears positioned to run the statewide platform and convening work in its present form.

Points of caution in the record: The transcript contains inconsistent numeric statements about program counts. Earlier in the presentation Chen said the My Future VT database lists roughly 50 postsecondary program entries that have been verified; later he referred to a larger count (reported in the hearing transcript as 950 education/training programs and about 169 support‑service listings). The committee asked for more specific metrics, and Chen said he would follow up with email documentation. The record also shows Chen referring to a state statutory action as “Act 5” and at another point referencing “Act 65” in connection with lists of credential‑bearing programs; the committee did not resolve that discrepancy during the hearing.

What didn’t happen: The committee did not vote or take formal action on the funding request during the session. Chen requested base funding and senators discussed priorities and follow‑up, but no motion, vote tally or formal decision appears in the transcript.

Next steps: Chen offered to provide supplemental data to the committee and urged conversations with AOE and the Department of Labor about longer‑term institutionalization. The committee left the matter for budget deliberations; no date for further committee action was recorded in the transcript.