Vermont's future prosperity depends on our ability to provide our youngest children with what they need to thrive today and become the adults who will strengthen our communities and economy. Research shows links between the quality of care and healthy child development. Low wages and few benefits, however, contribute to high turnover among early childhood educators and limit providers' ability to invest in professional education, both of which undermine children's healthy development.

Since August of 2010, the Kids Are Priority One Coalition's Quality Matters Campaign has focused on improving the quality of early care and education services in family child care homes, early care and education centers, and preschool programs.

Click here for a two-page overview of the campaign (PDF document).

Click here to endorse the Quality Matters Campaign and to share your answer to the question: "I Believe that Quality Early Care and Education is:"

As part of the Quality Matters Campaign, a series of statewide activities in November and December 2011 will support meaningful conversations between Vermont citizens and all 180 Vermont legislators. Called Campaign 180, the Coalition has partnered with each Building Bright Futures or Early Childhood Regional Council in the design of local activities that will:

• Build relationships between legislators and their constituents (including early childhood educators, business owners, parents, school administrators and law enforcement officials); and
• Deepen policymakers' understanding of the importance of quality in early care and education and learn about policy solutions that would ensure quality experiences for every Vermont child.

Click here to find an interactive map to learn about activities in your region and find contact information. Click here learn more about Campaign 180 or contact Kelly Ault, C180 Coordinator at kault1@earthlink.net or 802-272-0795.

The Quality Matters Campaign is informed by two broadly-convened statewide groups. The Coalition's Policy Committee, provides input on the decision making process which leads to taking a position on an issue in the Coalition's policy agenda, as well as develops specific policy recommendations and legislative strategies for the Quality Matters Campaign. The Coalition's Organizing Committee builds on this work in the identification of targets and design of organizing tactics that build the necessary public awareness and political will to advance the goals of the Quality Matters Campaign.

• Policy Committee: Kim Friedman, Kids Are Priority One Coalition's Campaign Director at kfriedman@svcable.net or 802-348-9879.
• Organizing Committee: Kelly Ault, Kids Are Priority One Coalition's Organizing Director at kault1@earthlink.net or 802-272-0795.

Click here to access a toolkit of written materials on the issue of quality early care and education. The following documents are useful for learning more about the Quality Matters Campaign, planning events and talking to legislators and community leaders about the importance of quality.

• Policy Brief (to be uploaded soon)
• Overview of Quality in Early Care and Education (Vermont)
• Resource List
• Early Childhood Messaging (introductory & expanded)
• Talking Points: Use to prepare a presentation, write a letter to the editor, craft an email to a legislator, etc.
• Leave-Behind Quality Card (to be uploaded soon)
• Phone Script for Turning Out Legislators to Events
• Harvard's Center on the Developing Child's In Brief Series

In order to provide quality and stability in early care and education, we must recruit and retain a skilled workforce and support programs to meet quality standards. Over the next few years, the Coalition will pursue the following recommendations:

(1) Provide the resources and incentives necessary for early childhood professionals and programs to improve the quality of early care and education by:

• Establishing a Quality Fund designed to:
  • Increase access to professional development and training opportunities to support early childhood professionals in their pursuit of an array of professional credentials and degrees as well as teacher licensure in Early Childhood Education;
  • Help professionals and programs to reach and maintain high-quality standards;
  • Provide resources to support ongoing evaluation of the quality of the early care and education system.
• Legislating incentives to increase the capacity of Vermont's higher education system to educate and train the early care and education workforce and make available teacher licensure opportunities;
• Implementing a statewide educational loan forgiveness/repayment program and/or increasing available scholarships for early childhood educators (including early intervention and early childhood special education professionals);
• Amending the Next Generation Initiative of Workforce Development legislation (Act 46, 2007) to allow for inclusion of the early education/after-school care workforce as a priority area.

(2) Implementing the public policies needed to assure early care and education programs and early childhood educators meet minimum quality and education standards by:

• Linking all public funding for child development services to quality standards and linking compensation to training for early childhood educators;
• Developing a statewide plan to ensure that early childhood educators earn a livable wage and have access to affordable health insurance;
• Increasing the number of licensors within the state of Vermont's Child Development Division to reflect the national standard.