Governor Phil Scott signed H.171 into law in the spring of 2021, setting a firm foundation for transformative change in the state’s early learning system. The bill includes:
• $5.5 million to expand subsidy eligibility to more families, reduce family co-pays, and increase reimbursements paid to child care programs;
• $2.5 million for workforce scholarships and a student loan repayment support program for teachers in child care programs;
• $4.5 million to upgrade the state’s child care information technology system. The new system, in addition to other improvements, will collect disaggregated data and allow the state to understand more about families accessing services; and
• $200,000 to study and offer recommendations for further improvements to the state child care system, including increased access to high-quality infant care, as well as financing a system that pays early childhood educators on par with colleagues in other fields while ensuring that no family spends more than 10% of their annual income on child care.
Learn more about H.171 and the advocates who made it happen.
In addition to H.171, the Vermont state budget contains an $800,000 appropriation to increase capacity of infant and toddler care in the state.
