Southeast VT Building Bright Futures-
Your source for all things early childhood
Happy New Year! It's been some time since you last heard from your faithful Early Childhoodista. Lots been going on since our November Telegraph. And you'll hear all about, right on these electronic pages. I'll cut right to it! Check out all the goods including our January 13th council meeting (today!) and our regional action plan.
- January 13th council meeting & discussion focused on Help Me Grow
- December 9th special council forum notes and handouts
- Our proposed Regional Action Plan
- Windham County Coats for Kids
- Brattleboro Promise Communities update
- VT Early Childhood Alliance legislative agenda & Day at the Legislature
- Let's Grow Kids campaign updates, including the Blue Ribbon Commission
- VT Foodbank food pantry pick up & Direct Distribution
- Early Learning Challenge grant project updates
- Child Care & Development Block Grant update and input
- Interesting reads, watches and listens
Finally,
BBF is in the process of hiring a new Executive Director. Our Interim ED, Molly Lambert, is seeking input from regional councils to inform the job poster and search process. job posting to re-open the search. What are the top 3 skill sets you feel are crucial for the permanent ED of Building Bright Futures?
Please email me your thoughts by Thursday, January 14th, 3pm. I will also be collecting your ideas during today's council meeting.
With love and gratitude-
Chad
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| Deep in discussion during our Dec 9th council forum |
802.451.9345
Who is BBF and what do we do?
Building Bright Futures (BBF) harnesses the power of Vermont communities to improve child and family well-being. BBF serves the dual role as both the Vermont Early Childhood Advisory Council and 501(c)(3) statewide network, aligning local solutions of 12 regional Councils with policy at the state level.
Council Operating Principles, including Steering Committee Roles & Responsibilities.
Click Here
for the approved council operating principles including the steering committee roles and responsibilities.
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January 13th Council Meeting
Rolling out Help Me Grow in Windham County & Regional Action Plan
The Southeast Vermont BBF regional council meetings are held every 2nd Wednesday of the month, 4-6pm at Winston Prouty, 20 Prouty Way, Brattleboro
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, January 13th from 4-6pm at Winston Prouty in Brattleboro. Jim Tonkovich of United Way 2-1-1 and I will be discussing
Help Me Grow,
a statewide system through United Way 2-1-1
that helps identify children who are physically, socially, or emotionally at-risk, and supports families in finding community-based programs and services. We'll also be reviewing and putting the final stamp of approval on our regional action plan (details below).
Click Here for the meeting notes from our special December 9th forum.
Click Here for BBF handout and early childhood "Map" presented at the forum.
Below is the schedule for our winter council meetings. All meetings will run from 4-6pm and be at
Winston Prouty Center, 20 Winston Prouty Way, Brattleboro, unless otherwise noted.
- February 10th, in Wilmington
- March 9th, Early Childhood Day at the Legislature, Montpelier
- April 13th, Back in Brattleboro, Winston Prouty
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Southeast VT BBF Regional Action Plan
Proposed Action Plan for Approval and all the materials
After a lengthy and rich process, we are ready to approve our proposed regional action plan!
We made a soft presentation of it during our special December 9th forum, highlighting the two priority areas and seeking feedback.
Click Here for the proposed, 2-page action plan. This will be discussed and voted on at the January 13th meeting and serve as our public plan as we move forward.
For those that want to dig deeper, below you will find the full plan, including our Theory of Change document, indicators, program measurements and collaborating partners. These are all works in progress, so the action planning team will constantly be refining and updating the plan as it moves forward. Want to help with that? Contact me at 802.451.9345 or
[email protected] to learn how.
- Click Here for the draft Theory of Change document (full, includes below full action plan)
- Click Here for the full action plan (only) (includes indicators, program measurements and what part of the state Early Childhood Action Plan it links to)
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Coats for Kids Windham County
United Way launches fundraising campaign for program
This program continues in the spirit of the Brattleboro Reformer Stocking program, providing winter gear for Windham County Families. Coats for Kids will provide winter gear for Windham County families 0-6th grade.
We need to raise $75,000 to make this happen next year!
Click Here for the donation form. You can also text "toasty" to 41444.
Click Here to listen to an interview on Green Mountain Mornings discussing the program.
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Brattleboro Promise Community
Green Street neighborhood efforts taking shape
The Green St Promise Community met as a full planning group has met 7 times since forming. We have extended evening meetings so we can share dinner.
Our next two meetings are scheduled for January 14th and February 11th (the second Thursday of each month) at 5:15pm, at The Root, in the Whetstone Building at the five way intersection at the end of Elliot and Frost st. We'll have dinner and activities for kids.
We'll focus on how families in our community access food- with some data from Hunger Free Vt partners including United Way, the WSESU school food program, Brattleboro Food Co-Op, Food Connects, and Ground Works. For me, and I know for many of you, food is both an anchoring and nurturing force in my experiences of family and community. . .I look forward to this conversation.
We will also revisit our timeline-- where we started, the decisions we've made thus far, and our plans for the next few months of work. It's going to be a big month for us as we'll begin our community cafe dinners, dive into our data, and plan some more public outreach.
The Green St Community also meets informally every Friday morning at a local coffee shop to touch base without agendas, and is forming outreach teams, called Pods to have deeper community conversations.
Click Here to follow the Green Street efforts on Facebook.
Click Here to read a recent article on Promise Communities and its involvement with the Windham County Hunger Council.
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Let's Grow Kids Launches Small Talk Videos
Vermonters sharing stories of how they interact with the early childhood system
In partnership with Building Bright Futures, Vermont Community Access Media and Vermont Folklife Center, Let's Grow Kids spent the summer traversing the state capturing stories...How Vermonter's experience the early childhood system. As parents, professionals, advocates and decision makers.
Click Here
to watch and share these powerful stories.
For updates, news and ways to get involved in the Let's Grow Kids efforts,
Click Here.
For news, details and updates on the Blue Ribbon Commission on financing high quality, affordable child care,
Click Here.
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Vermont Early Childhood Alliance
Launches 2016 Agenda & updates on March 9th Day at the Legislature
Click Here for the recently released 2016 Legislative Agenda, describing the issues VECA is focusing on this legislative session.
Save the date for Wednesday, March 9th for the annual Early Childhood Day at the Legislature. Click Here for details.
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Update on VT's Early Learning Challenge Grant
A detailed update on activities related to VT's ELC grant  For a full overview and monthly updates, Click Here for details on the VT Early Learning Challenge-Race To the Top (ELC-RTT) grant. Click Here to read the latest grant updates
The ELC grant is a $36.9 million, federally funded, four-year grant to help build a high-quality and accessible early childhood system in the state so that all young children will be ready to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
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Child Care & Development Block Grant
Updates and opportunity to provide feedback
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014 was passed by the Congress and signed into law by President Obama in November 2014. This act is also referred to as the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). This is the federal funding source and guidance for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) and all related child care quality and professional development initiatives administered by the Vermont Department for Children and Families, Child Development Division (CDD).
This is the first time the law has been reauthorized since it was initiated in 1996; and there are significant changes focused on health and safety standards, consumer education, systems integration and the quality of child care services the fund supports.
Click Here to read VT's CURRENT plan, which will run through October 2016
The draft plan will be released January 20th.
States, including Vermont, are required to submit a CCDF State Plan, subject to federal approval, to describe how they will meet the new requirements in state child care subsidy programs and quality initiatives. In some areas, states have broad discretion, in other areas there are highly prescriptive requirements in the law.
We have until March 1, 2016 to develop a new plan in consultation with state and local partners and stakeholders, hold a public hearing, and submit the plan for approval.
Ask us about our plan:
The division is offering an opportunity for individuals to ask us questions about the state's plan to address the new requirements in a webinar format. The webinar is January 15, 2016 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM. To register for the webinar Click Here.
Give us feedback:
In addition, you have an opportunity to comment on the state's plan to address the CCDBG Act of 2014. We will be publishing our plan on January 20, 2016 through our website and via email announcement. You then may provide comments via a SurveyMonkey survey, or at a public hearing. The public hearings will be held:
- January 28th, 2016 - 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM via a webinar. Registration link will be sent out on January 20th
- February 1st, 2016 - 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM via webinar. Registration link will be sent out on January 20th
- February 4th, 2016 - 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM at the Best Western Plus Waterbury, 45 Blush Hill Road, Waterbury, Vermont 05676-9067
If you have questions or feedback that you would like to make, please send them to:
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VT United Way 2-1-1 Launches Help Me Grow
Statewide service to support children with young children
Click Here to read the launch details of Help Me Grow, which will support existing local early intervention efforts. For more information on the Help Me Grow model, Click Here.
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 What's Happening?
News & events for and from the field.
News & Updates
- Windham County Parent Resource Calendar. Click Here to see all Windham County events, workshops, classes for children and families.
- Updates on Vermont's Universal Pre-K law, Act 166.Click Here to read.
- Windham Child Care Association seeking board members. For details or to send a letter of interest, contact Jim Maland at [email protected], or 60 Chestnut Hill, Brattleboro, VT 05301.
- Early Educator Professional Development Calendar. Windham Child Care Association launches a comprehensive professional development and community calendar. Click Here to view the calendar.
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Tax Prep by United Way of Windham County. Go to
www.MyFreeTax.com or contact United Way at 802.257.4011
Events
- Monday January 18th, 5:30-7pm, Coop Cooking Classroom. "Healing Autism, ADHD, and Family Stress". Brattleboro Food Co-Op
- Thursday January 21st, 3:30-5pm, Coop Cooking Classroom. "Class for Kids--Fun Flavors from Around the World: Rwanda". Brattleboro Food Co-Op
Job Announcements
- Windham County job openings in the early childhood field. For the full list, Click Here.
Interesting Stuff To Read, Watch & Listen:
- Does Early Education Come Way Too Late? Freakonomics Podcast. Click Here to listen.
- Child care is so expensive, only the wealthy can afford it. Click Here to read.
- Child Care Now Cost More than Rent. Click Here to read.
- An Area's Union Membership Can Predict Children's Advancement. Click Here to read.
- The New Preschool is Crushing Kids. Click Here to read.
- Neonates Exposed to Opioids in VT. Click Here to read.
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Like & Share Us On The Facebook
You liked us on Facebook and we like you back.
Now that we've surpassed 100, I'm taking 36 days off of bugging you. Be sure to check us out for regular news, articles, tips and interesting posts. Click Here. Thanks!
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