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Along with our housing crisis, Vermont’s childcare crisis is making Vermont nearly impossible for working class families. Many families with young children know how hard it can be to balance their need to find quality, affordable childcare so they can go to work to support their family. The US Census Bureau estimates that 21,131 children under 6 in Vermont have all available parents in the workforce and need some form of childcare while a parent is working. Meanwhile, there are only 12,380 full-day, full-year slots in childcare programs available. Even for those who can secure childcare, it can be prohibitively expensive. The advocacy group Let’s Grow Kids estimates that the average cost of childcare for a family in Vermont is over $26,000 per year, more than in-state tuition to a Vermont State College [source].
On top of that, early childhood educators are not paid a livable wage. Some educators have left the profession because they cannot afford to stay, and few new educators are entering it.
The problem here is threefold. 1) Childcare in Vermont needs to be expanded to provide more high-quality care; 2) Steps need to be taken to address the cost of childcare; 3) Wages for early childhood educators must increase so we can expand our workforce.
Two bills being considered by the legislature, S.56 and H.208 aim to address these problems. Here are some of the main policies they would implement:
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Expands the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) by increasing the eligibility limit from families making 350% of the federal poverty line to 600%, thus greatly expanding the number of children eligible to receive childcare assistance.
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Increases the exemption from CCFAP co-pays from families making below 150% of the federal poverty line to 185%, making sure costs will not prevent the children most in need from receiving care.
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Increases compensation for early childhood educators.
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Provides financial support for community and home-based childcare programs by reimbursing centers for enrollment.
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Provides financial incentives for providing the highest quality care.
These steps would provide many benefits to Vermont. The promise of highly affordable childcare would free up thousands of parents to join the work force. They would earn more for their families and help small businesses by filling the many job openings across Vermont. Better access to free or affordable childcare would also make Vermont attractive to families looking to move in from out of state.
As of Thursday, S.56 was referred to the Senate Appropriations committee and will likely be passed by the Senate and messaged to the House next week.
Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act
Vermont knows the importance of organized labor. Unions have improved working conditions, raised wages, protected healthcare provisions for workers and provided protections to workers in Vermont for many years. However, many barriers still exist for those trying to organize their workplace. H.219 and S.102, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Acts, aim to make it easier for Vermonters to unionize. These bills would change Vermont labor laws in a number of important ways:
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Protect employees right not to attend captive audience meetings, where employers try to discourage them from forming a union.
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Extend collective bargaining rights to agricultural and domestic workers, two sectors that have faced exclusions (With historically racist origins) from unionizing.
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Simplify the process of forming a union by only requiring 50% plus one of the employees to vote yes for a union to be recognized.
Passing the Vermont PRO Act is an important step in ensuring all Vermonters have the ability to form a union without pressured interference.
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I encourage you to contact your legislators and the Governor’s office on these issue and other issues that are important to you.
Lt Governor David Zuckerman