CABOT, Vt. (WCAX) – Child care continues to evolve across Vermont as new programs open and close. One provider in Cabot is bridging the gap in the community.
For almost a year now, Vermont has been operating with what’s said to be one of the most expansive child care programs in the country. That’s after a sweeping bill passed last year, increasing financial assistance for families in an effort to create more spots for kids.
The state says that from February 2023 to February 2024, 5 counties lost 15 or more child care spots. At the same time, 6 counties gained 15 or more child care openings.
When parent Jacqueline Batten thinks about her experience with finding child care, she says she remembers feeling panicked.
“When I had my first kiddo, even before she was born, we started looking for child care. And I remember one day, calling about eight different centers in Vermont, ones that would take me approximately an hour away from home and none of them had spots,” said Batten.
Batten’s journey is not unique in Vermont’s child care landscape, and it’s one that continued for the Marshfield mother’s second and third children, who are twins.
“A really tough situation where it was we kept hitting roadblocks,” said Batten.
That’s where Cabot’s ABC&LOL Child Care Center comes in, which opened in November. Batten was able to get her kids in, which she says is a huge relief.
ABC&LOL has centers in St. Johnsbury in Peacham as well. The Cabot spot is licensed for 15 children, and the other centers have received grants to expand too.
“There are no licensed child care centers in the town of Cabot. Many families travel 30 to 45 minutes. We had families traveling from here all the way to St. Johnsbury and then driving back to Montpelier or others for work,” said Taylor Brink of ABC&LOL Child Care Centers.
Brink says they were able to get increased funding through Act 76′s subsidy program. Thus, they could give higher wages and health insurance to their employees. At the same time, families are getting subsidies too, with eligibility increasing every few months.
“The goal would be and our hope would be to hit that like 80% mark of qualifying and even if they don’t get a full subsidy to pay for 100% of child care, even a little bit of money, you know, can help towards it,” said Brink.
Janet McLaughlin with the Department for Children and Families notes that less than a year of Act 76 isn’t enough time to see a drastic change in statewide child care capacity. However, the number of spaces opening and closing is leveling out – a successful departure from seeing more losses of spots than gains.
”Anecdotally, we are hearing from programs that are able to potentially reopen classrooms that had been closed due to limited staffing, and they’re reporting that the additional financial resources that they have as a result of the additional investments from the state are allowing them to offer better wages,” said McLaughlin.
Simultaneously, Mclaughlin says the state is funding grants for over 100 requests of people looking to start or expand since September, with 50 projects already funded.
As of earlier this month, the eligibility threshold increased, allowing more families to receive financial assistance. To help pay for it all is a payroll tax set to begin July 1st.