KIDS COUNT Data Book shows lack of affordable child care in Vermont

This year’s Data Book shows that New Hampshire, Utah and Massachusetts rank first, second and third in overall well-being and Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico rank 48th, 49th and 50th.

Vermont’s overall ranking, which represents an increase from last year’s fifth-place ranking, is reflective of a history of policies that have advocated for child well-being, according to Voice for Vermont’s Children Research Director Sarah Teel.

Voices for Vermont’s Children is a statewide, multi-issue child policy research and advocacy organization.

“A lot of these indicators that go into this ranking reflect a long-standing commitment in Vermont to be supportive in terms of our economic and social safety net,” Teel said. “It’s a comparative measurement, (so) it also reflects destructive policies in other states at times because they are relative to each other.”

But Teel and Voices for Vermont’s Children Communication and Engagement Director Kit Harrington agreed that the fuller picture of Vermont’s four domains show a clear need for increased access to affordable child care.

According to the report, Vermont is tied with North Carolina and Arizona for the highest rate of children birth to age 5 living in families where someone quit, changed or refused a job because of problems with child care, at 16%.

“One of the things that we try to keep in mind when it comes to centering child wellbeing is, one, the lived experience of children and families in Vermont and the fact that all these areas that are being addressed are part of the full experience of families. So, when it comes to creating the conditions that support children and families being able to thrive, it’s important that we look holistically at the system and make sure kids’ needs are being met across the board,” Harrington said.

And while Vermont’s percentage of children aged 3 and 4 not enrolled in preschool has decreased to 42% between 2017 and 2021 from 50% between 2009 and 2013, the report also shows that Vermont’s average cost of center-based child care for a toddler was $12,959.

The report outlines that this number represents 12% of median income for a married couple and 37% of a single mother’s median income in the state. The cost of home-based care for a toddler in Vermont, $9,879, is estimated at 28% of a single mother’s median income and 9% for a married couple.

“This decrease (in children enrolled in preschool) must be reflective of the universal preschool legislation to some degree,” Teel said. “We know that there is more of a demand than can be met, and part of that has to do with capacity. There are other factors like families having individual needs and preferences and what exists within reach, geographically, logistically and economically. There still are barriers.”

Other Vermont statistics in the Data Book are that 17% of high school students are not graduating on time, a slight increase that Teel partially attributed to Vermont’s focus on proficiency-based education; and that 24% of children in 2021 lived in households where no parent had full-time, year-round employment — the 11th highest rate in the country.

“Nothing is really surprising (about these statistics),” Teel said. “Even in the absence of these data points, we already were well aware of the difficulties finding and paying for child care and the unsustainable parts of the model — in terms of the workforce and how well compensated it has been.”

The full Data Book can be downloaded at bit.ly/kcdb2023 online.

sophia.buckley-clement

@rutlandherald.com