Support comes from all corners of Vermont and from Republicans, Independents, Progressives, and Democrats
Vermont Business Magazine House bill H.171, an act relating to the governance and financing of Vermont’s child care system, was introduced this week with overwhelming support from all parties including independents with nearly two-thirds of all House members co-sponsoring. The bill begins a three-year process to ensure access to affordable and high-quality child care for all of Vermont’s children and families.
Representative Theresa Wood of Waterbury is among the lead sponsors of the bill.
“I am so encouraged by the broad support for this bill because we simply must make progress towards greater access to and investments in high-quality child care that families can afford,” she remarked. “This is one of those issues where we already have consensus on the need to act boldly—that’s no small thing. Now, it’s up to us to set the wheels in motion for how we can build on our work to make lasting progress as we recover from the pandemic stronger and more resilient than we went in.”
Aly Richards, CEO of Let’s Grow Kids, shared her gratitude to lawmakers for their relentless commitment to the kids, parents, businesses, and early childhood educators of Vermont.
“We want to simply say, ‘thank you’ to the legislators who signed on to this bill,” said Richards. “You are the child care champions we need to build up our early childhood education system. Child care is essential and, working together, we will achieve lasting and positive change in our state. Thank you again for your leadership.”
A full list of co-sponsors can be found below.
To learn more about Vermont’s child care movement and how you can get involved, visit: https://letsgrowkids.org/mobilize/.
H. 171 Sponsors include:
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Rep. Jessica Brumsted Rep. Kathleen James Rep. Emilie Kornheiser Rep. Michael Marcotte Rep. Maida Townsend Rep. Theresa Wood Rep. David Yacovone Rep. Peter Anthony Rep. Sarah "Sarita" Austin Rep. Lynn Batchelor Rep. Matthew Birong Rep. Alyssa Black Rep. Tiffany Bluemle Rep. Seth Bongartz Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun Rep. Erin Brady Rep. Timothy Briglin Rep. Jana Brown Rep. Mollie Burke Rep. Elizabeth Burrows Rep. R. Scott Campbell Rep. Seth Chase Rep. Kevin Christie Rep. Brian Cina Rep. Sara Coffey Rep. Selene Colburn Rep. Harold "Hal" Colston Rep. Peter Conlon Rep. Sarah Copeland Hanzas Rep. Mari Cordes Rep. Karen Dolan Rep. Katherine "Kari" Dolan Rep. Katherine Donnally |
Rep. David Durfee Rep. Caleb Elder Rep. Alice Emmons Rep. John Gannon Rep. Leslie Goldman Rep. Kenneth Goslant Rep. Maxine Grad Rep. James Gregoire Rep. Philip "Jay" Hooper Rep. Robert Hooper Rep. Lori Houghton Rep. Mary Howard Rep. Stephanie Jerome Rep. John Killacky Rep. Warren Kitzmiller Rep. Martin LaLonde Rep. Diane Lanpher Rep. Paul Lefebvre Rep. William Lippert Rep. Emily Long Rep. James Masland Rep. Michael McCarthy Rep. James McCullough Rep. Francis McFaun Rep. Leland Morgan Rep. Michael Morgan Rep. Michael Mrowicki Rep. Emma Mulvaney-Stanak Rep. Logan Nicoll Rep. Michael Nigro Rep. Robert Norris Rep. Daniel Noyes Rep. Carol Ode Rep. Woodman Page Rep. Kelly Pajala |
Rep. Carolyn Partridge Rep. Avram Patt Rep. Ann Pugh Rep. Barbara Rachelson Rep. Marybeth Redmond Rep. Carl Rosenquist Rep. Brian Savage Rep. Robin Scheu Rep. Heidi Scheuermann Rep. Patrick Seymour Rep. Amy Sheldon Rep. Katherine Sims Rep. Taylor Small Rep. Harvey Smith Rep. Trevor Squirrell Rep. Gabrielle Stebbins Rep. Thomas Stevens Rep. George Till Rep. Tristan Toleno Rep. Joseph "Chip" Troiano Rep. Tanya Vyhovsky Rep. Tommy Walz Rep. Kathryn Webb Rep. Kirk White Rep. Rebecca White Rep. Dane Whitman Rep. Michael Yantachka |
About Let’s Grow Kids
Let’s Grow Kids is a nonprofit organization on a mission: ensuring affordable access to high-quality child care for all Vermont families by 2025. With over 30,000 supporters from all walks of life, Let’s Grow Kids is strengthening the early care and education system today and calling for lasting investments in child care. Together, we can give children a strong start and build a better Vermont for generations to come. Learn more at www.letsgrowkids.org.
Source: Montpelier, VT – Let's Grow Kids 2.5.2021