Overview

Kids Are Priority One's Mission: To ensure that every child in Vermont gets a good start.

Kids Are Priority One's Vision: Every child birth to age six has access to quality, affordable early care, health, and education services.

Kids Are Priority One's Goals

Goal #1:Constituencies show an increased interest in early childhood issues.
Goal #2:Constituencies continue to act on early childhood issues.
Goal #3:Kids Are Priority One leads a strong statewide coalition committed to assuring that every child in Vermont has access to quality, affordable early care, health and education services.
Goal #4:Policymakers move toward building Vermont's strong early childhood system - Building Bright Futures.

Primary Constituencies: Parents, educators, early childhood service providers, policy makers, community leaders, businesses

Kids Are Priority One's Initiatives

  • Early Childhood Advocates' Information Clearinghouse: Statewide resource for information on early childhood issues, including Kids Are Priority One web site, fact sheets, talking points for testimony, legislative updates, workshop sponsorship, and presentations.
  • Kids E-Network: An email network of committed advocates for young children who rely on Kids Are Priority One to keep them informed of new research, relevant events, policy development, and opportunities for action.
  • Kids' Media Messengers: Activities and events aimed at increasing statewide and local media coverage of issues affecting young children.
  • Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy Training: Customized training provided to emerging leaders who want to become more effective advocates for young children.
  • Organizing For Change: Grassroots organizing, technical assistance, and coalition-building aimed at broadening local support for early childhood development services.
  • Parents Rising: Train, empower and mobilize parents in the workforce, stay-at-home parents, single parents, parents of children with special needs and grandparents as advocates for young children.
  • Early Childhood Public Policy Forum: A process that engages diverse constituencies via issue-area Work Groups to examine public policy issues and develop recommendations related to the quality, affordability and availability of early childhood development services.
  • Legislative Advocacy: Kids Are Priority One's lobbyist represents the coalition at the Statehouse and works with the coalition's Organizing Director and local leaders to mobilize public support for the coalition's legislative initiatives.

Kids Are Priority One Coalition Lead Organizations and Staff

The Kids Are Priority One Coalition is led by six organizations, which host the coalition's staff:

  • Barbara Postman, Policy Coordinator
    Host Organization: Voices for Vermont's Children

  • Kay Van Woert, Policy Specialist
    Host Organization: Parent to Parent of Vermont

  • Kim Friedman, Organizing Director
    Host Organization: Windham Child Care Association

  • Kelly Ault, Parent Organizer
    Host Organization: Mama Says

  • Melissa Riegel-Garrett, Communications Coordinator
    Host Organization: Vermont Association for the Education of Young Children

  • Sue Ryan, E-network Coordinator
    Host Organization: Vermont Child Care Industry and Careers Council