The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 33: Human Services

Chapter 046: Building Bright Futures Council

• § 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.)