Legislature, Advocates Begin Consideration of Governor’s Recommended FY23 Budget

Last week the Governor gave his annual Budget Address, which marked the formal start of the Legislature’s budget-writing process for the upcoming 2023 Fiscal Year (FY23).

The Governor’s speech was accompanied by the release of the Governor’s Recommended Budget, which is used by legislative committees as the starting point for their deliberations. The House will be working on their FY23 budget until mid-March, with the Senate doing most of their budget work in March and April.

As the press has reported, the Governor is proposing to use a combination of state surplus and federal pandemic response funds to support a number of large, one-time expenditures. Several of these are in policy areas that are critical to the Alliance and to our communities, including housing, workforce development, and tax credits for families, children, and child care workers. He also proposed a modest funding increase in the CCFAP program and other program changes.

However, many of the proposals are more outlines rather than detailed plans, and legislators will have many questions before they can consider whether or not to support them. Until the budget is passed and signed, none of these proposals (in whatever form they eventually may take) will go into effect.

The Governor’s comments last week in many ways pointed in a good direction, but his proposals would do too little to address the ongoing, daily negative impacts of the pandemic on real people in our communities. Too many still face emergency conditions. Nor did he provide a vision for a more fair, just, and equitable Vermont. While the initiatives are worth further study, they will only make a small impact on the very large, structural challenges facing Vermont families and communities. The Alliance supports a vision of a state that works for every person living here, no one excluded.

State agencies and departments will be sharing more details of their proposals to various committees in the coming days. Meanwhile, Alliance members continue to advocate for improvements to Reach Up, Farm to School, and other programs, and more funding for PCCs and CIS.

For more information on all these issues, please reach out to the lead organizations on the issues on our Legislative Agenda, who can help you follow the details of the discussions.

Vermont Early Childhood Fund Grantees for ‘22 Announced

The Vermont Early Childhood Fund (VECF) is an initiative of Building Bright Futures (BBF) to support creative solutions that will improve the well-being of young children, families, as well as the Vermont communities in which they live. 

Each year BBF Regional Councils identify two key issues impacting children and families in each of Vermont’s 12 regions. The Vermont Early Childhood Fund uses these regional priorities to guide each year’s grant making.

You can read about this year’s grantees and their projects on the BBF website.

LGK 2022 Child Care Policy Briefing – 1/27 

Let’s Grow Kids (LGK) is hosting two policy briefings to go over their 2022 child care legislative agenda, talk through priorities, and develop strategies to build more support for these priorities in communities across the state. The briefings will take place on Thursday, January 27 at 12pm and 8pm.

Join LGK to discuss emergency compensation and recruitment tools for early childhood educators, funding the Child Care Financing Study to move forward as passed in H.171, investments in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) to make child care more affordable for families, and ensuring the continued implementation of H.171.

For more information and to register, visit the LGK website.

Alliance Members Hiring 

Green Mountain Farm to School (GMFTS) is hiring a Development and Communications Manager. This position works closely with the Executive Director to implement an effective, multi-year fundraising strategy, with a particular focus on increasing major gifts and multi-year commitments, corporate sponsorships, and grants from both private foundations and federal and state government programs.

To find out more about this position and how to apply, visit the GMFTS website.
 

The Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) is hiring an Investment and Grant Manager. This position reports to the Director of Investment and Philanthropy and focuses on impact investment, donation and grant management, investor and donor relations, events, and support for the Board of Directors.

To find out more about this position and how to apply, visit the VCLF website.