Building Bright Futures Board

1
Building Bright Futures Board

• A Framework for Action
• August 24, 2006

2
Vision

• Vermont children are healthy and successful
• Pregnant women and young children thrive
• Children are ready for, and succeed, in school
• Children live in stable and supported families
• Communities provide safety and support for
  families and individuals

3
Purpose

• Building Bright Futures seeks to
• Improve the quality of services for families with
  children under the age of six and/or expecting a
  child
• Establish a formal system for planning,
  coordinating, integrating and developing early
  childhood programs, policies, information and
  resources at the State and regional levels.

4
The Brutal Facts

• 41,000 children under the age of 6
• 13,000 children are preschoolers
• School age population is shrinking
• Overall demographics of VT aging
• Socio-economic pressures will increase
• 71.3 of all women with children under 6 are in
  the labor force

5
More Facts

• 30,000 children are in out of home early care and
  education programs
• About 50 of all children entering kindergarten
  are not considered ready to learn in all areas
  assessed
• 5,500 children under 6 live in households with
  incomes at or below federal poverty level
• 30 of 2 4 yr olds in WIC are overweight or at
  risk for obesity
• 33 of women enrolled in WIC smoke

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The System
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Our Charge

• Support the creation of an integrated system of
  early childhood care, health and education.
• Develop a statewide plan for the coordination and
  integration of early childhood services.
• Advise the administration and legislature on the
  status and needs of the early childhood care,
  health and education system.
• Promote the integration of agency and
  departmental budgets to improve outcomes.
• Develop a common system for reporting of
  statewide outcomes for children in conjunction
  with set targets.
• Address policies and regulations that pose
  barriers in serving families.
• Guide and coordinate policy development for all
  issues related to children under the age of six
  with an emphasis on those areas which cross
  departmental lines and involve both the public
  and private sector.
• Support planning for the coordination and
  integration of early childhood services at the
  local level.

8
Our Charge

• Ensure that every region in Vermont develops a
  Building Bright Futures Council that meets the
  guidelines established by the State Council with
  the technical assistance as needed.
• Ensure the capacity of working committees as
  needed to support the integrated system with
  liaisons to the Regional Councils.
• Pursue adequate funding from the private and
  public sector to deliver high quality early care,
  health and education services.
• Hire and supervise an executive director and hire
  or assign other staff as is necessary to the
  development of Building Bright Futures.
• Affiliate with other organizations as necessary
  to carry out the work of Building Bright Futures
  including establishing a formal relationship with
  statewide organizations representing businesses,
  employers and employees.

9
Next Steps

• Determine how we start looking at the needs of
  young children as a system rather than individual
  programs
• Determine how we develop a clear plan of action
  and governance structure to effectively move
  forward