§ 4601. Definitions
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Early care, health, and education” means all services provided to families expecting
a child and to children up to eight years of age, including child care, family support,
early education, mental and physical health services, nutrition services, and disability
services.
(2) “Regional council” means a regional entity linked to the State Building Bright Futures
Council to support the creation of an integrated system of early care, health, and
education at the local level. (Added 2009, No. 104 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 12, 2010; amended 2023, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § E.316.1, eff. July 1, 2024.)
§ 4602. Building Bright Futures Council
(a) The Building Bright Futures Program shall be governed by a statewide council comprising
no more than 23 members. The Building Bright Futures Council’s membership shall be
as follows:
(1) The Secretary of Human Services or designee.
(2) The Secretary of Commerce and Community Development or designee.
(3) The Secretary of Education or designee.
(4) The Commissioner for Children and Families or designee.
(5) The Commissioner of Health or designee.
(6) The Commissioner of Mental Health or designee.
(7) One member of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(8) One member of the Senate, appointed by the Senate Committee on Committees.
(9) The Head Start Collaboration Office Director.
(10) Fourteen at-large members, appointed by the Governor based on their commitment to
early childhood well-being and representing a range of perspectives and geographic
diversity. The Governor shall consider the recommendations of the Council’s nominating
committee. One of the at-large members shall be a representative of a local Head Start
program and one shall be a member of a school board, to be recommended by the Vermont
School Boards Association.
(b)(1) An individual designated to participate on the Council on behalf of a Secretary or
Commissioner listed in subsection (a) of this section shall count toward a quorum
of the Council and shall be permitted to vote on Council business.
(2) In the event of a vacancy in one of the at-large member positions on the Council,
the remaining members shall endeavor to fill the vacancy with an individual representing
a perspective or geographic area not currently represented on the Council.
(c) Technical assistance to the Council shall be provided by staff within the Agency of
Education and the Departments of Health and for Children and Families.
(d) For Council meetings held when the General Assembly is not in session, the legislative
members of the Council shall be entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement
of expenses in accordance with 2 V.S.A. § 23. Members of the Council who are not State employees or whose participation is not
supported through their employment or association may be entitled to compensation
and reimbursement for expenses for attending meetings of the Council under 32 V.S.A. § 1010 to the extent funds are available.
(e) The Council shall function as a public-private partnership with the ability to raise
and disburse funds.
(f) The Council shall support the establishment of, and maintenance of relationships with,
regional councils providing regional capacity to further the Council’s goals. (Added 2009, No. 104 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 12, 2010; amended No. 156 (Adj. Sess.), § E.318.1, eff. May 12, 2010; 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 298, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2013, No. 100 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 8, 2014; 2021, No. 20, § 330.)
§ 4603. Powers and duties
The Council established by section 4602 of this title shall have the following powers and duties necessary and appropriate to effectuating
the purposes of this chapter:
(1) Advise the Administration and General Assembly on:
(A) the status and needs of the early care, health, and education system by conducting
a review of the status of young children in Vermont and the care, health, and education
services and systems that support them; and
(B) planning related to and the administration and operation of Vermont’s child care system.
(2) Monitor overall system performance by regularly tracking and reporting system data
on the well-being of young children and the performance of the system of care related
to the Council’s commitments to children and selected population-level indicators.
(3) Develop an early care, health, and education system plan for Vermont to serve as the
basis for policy and funding recommendations, which shall reflect the growing diversity
of Vermont’s children and families.
(4) Review and formulate recommendations for amendments or revisions to policies or rules
that may impede the ability to address State and local priorities and the ability
to ensure system effectiveness.
(5) Work with the Secretaries of Human Services, of Commerce and Community Development,
and of Education to ensure the coordination of existing budgets and policies that
affect the care, health, and education of young children.
(6) Identify and reduce duplication of services and of administrative approval processes
and improve coordination across agencies.
(7) Work with the Agencies of Human Services, of Commerce and Community Development, and
of Education, and the regional councils to coordinate and integrate the development
of an early childhood budget recommendation that reflects alignment of funding with
priorities identified in the system plan.
(8) Support the regional councils in their efforts to coordinate and implement services
in accordance with identified priorities in system and regional plans.
(9) Contract with State agencies and departments to deliver services as agreed upon.
(10) Pursue and accept funding from diverse sources outside State government to sustain,
expand, and enhance the early care, health, and education system according to the
early care, health, and education system plan.
(11) Disburse funds raised through fund development activities in accordance with priorities
defined in the system plan.
(12) Convene members of the child care community, medical community, education community,
business community, and other organizations, as well as State agencies serving young
children, to ensure that families receive quality services in the most efficient and
cost-effective manner.
(13) Select the key performance measures to be tracked in early childhood programs and
identify priority strategies to improve results.
(14) Ensure children from birth to six years of age are included in statistical data systems
developed by the Agency of Education and other state agencies and that all such systems
are interoperable.
(15) Analyze data to assess progress in achieving the population-level outcomes relevant
to children set forth in 3 V.S.A. § 2311 and make recommendations for any necessary adjustments.
(16) Report to the Governor, the Chief Performance Officer, and the legislative committees
of jurisdiction during the first month of each legislative biennium on the Council’s
findings and recommendations, progress toward achieving the population-level outcomes
relevant to children set forth in 3 V.S.A. § 2311, and recommendations for priorities for the biennium. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the report to be made under this
subdivision. (Added 2009, No. 104 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 12, 2010; amended 2013, No. 92 (Adj. Sess.), § 299, eff. Feb. 14, 2014; 2013, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 71; 2015, No. 11, § 37; 2021, No. 20, § 331; 2021, No. 45, § 9.)
§ 4604. Limitation of scope
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to supersede or usurp the statutory powers
or authority of any State agency or department or any school district. (Added 2009, No. 104 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. May 12, 2010.)
§ 4605. Technical assistance; accountability
In order to ensure the successful implementation of expanded child care, prekindergarten,
and afterschool and summer care, Building Bright Futures shall be responsible for
monitoring accountability, supporting stakeholders in collectively defining and measuring
success, maximizing stakeholder engagement, and providing technical assistance to
build capacity for the Department for Children and Families’ Child Development Division
and the Agency of Education. Specifically, Building Bright Futures shall:
(1) ensure accountability through monitoring transitions over time and submitting a report
with the results of this work on January 15 of each year to the House Committee on
Human Services and to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare; and
(2) define and measure success of expanded child care, prekindergarten, and afterschool
and summer care related to process, implementation, and outcomes using a continuous
quality improvement framework and engage public, private, legislative, and family
partners to develop benchmarks pertaining to:
(A) equitable access to high-quality child care;
(B) equitable access to high-quality prekindergarten;
(C) equitable access to high-quality afterschool and summer care;
(D) stability of the early child care education workforce;
(E) workforce capacity and needs of the child care, prekindergarten, afterschool and summer
care systems; and
(F) the impact of expanded child care, prekindergarten, and afterschool and summer care
on a mixed-delivery system. (Added 2023, No. 76, § 19, eff. July 1, 2023.)