Child Care Services

V.S.A. tit. 33, ch. 35, subch. 2

in effect

33 V.S.A. § 3511 Definitions

3511. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Child” means an individual under 13 years of age. (2) “Child care facility” means any place or program operated as a business or service on a regular or continuous basis, whether for compensation or not, whose primary function is protection, care, and supervision of children under 16 years of age outside their homes for periods of fewer than 24 hours a day by a person other than a child’s own parent, guardian, or relative, as defined by rules adopted by the Department for Children and Families, but not including a kindergarten approved by the State Board of Education. (3) “Child care provider” means a person licensed or registered by the Department for Children and Families, or authorized by the Department, to provide child care. (4) “Child care services” include developmentally appropriate care and supervision for children under 13 years of age for fewer than 24 hours a day by a child care provider. (5) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner for Children and Families. (6) “Division” means the Child Development Division. (7) “Family child care home” means a child care facility that provides care on a regular basis in the caregiver’s own residence. (8) “Training” means an activity, approved by the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee, that is likely to lead to employment or required to maintain employment. Added 1987, No. 205 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; amended 1997, No. 31, § 1; 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 110; 2007, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 17; 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 63, eff. May 20, 2014; 2019, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 5, 2020; 2019, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2021; 2023, No. 87 (Adj. Sess.), § 76, eff. Mar. 13, 2024.

33 V.S.A. § 3512 Child Care Financial Assistance Program; eligibility

3512. Child Care Financial Assistance Program; eligibility (a)(1) The Child Care Financial Assistance Program is established to subsidize the costs of child care for families that need child care services in order to obtain employment, to retain employment, or to obtain training leading to employment. Families seeking employment shall be entitled to participate in the Program for up to three months and the Commissioner may further extend that period. (2) The subsidy authorized by this subsection and the corresponding family contribution shall be established by the Commissioner, by rule, and shall bear a reasonable relationship to income and family size. The Commissioner may adjust the subsidy and family contribution by rule to account for increasing child care costs not to exceed 1.5 times the most recent annual increase in the NAICS code 611, Educational Services. Families shall be found eligible using an income eligibility scale based on the current federal poverty level and adjusted for the size of the family. Co-payments shall be assigned to the whole family and shall not increase if more than one eligible child is enrolled in child care. Families with an annual gross income of less than or equal to 175 percent of the current federal poverty guidelines shall not have a family co-payment. Families with an annual gross income up to and including 575 percent of current federal poverty guidelines, adjusted for family size, shall be eligible for a subsidy authorized by this subsection. The scale shall be structured so that it encourages employment. If the federal poverty guidelines decrease in a given year, the Division shall maintain the previous year’s federal poverty guidelines for the purpose of determining eligibility and benefit amount under this subsection. (3) Earnings deposited in a qualified child education savings account, such as the Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan, established in 16 V.S.A. § 2877, or any similar plan qualified under 26 U.S.C. § 529, shall be disregarded in determining the amount of a family’s income for the purpose of determining continuing eligibility. (4) Nothing in this subsection shall preclude a child care provider from establishing tuition rates that are lower than the provider reimbursement rate in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (5) The Department shall ensure that applications for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program use a simple, plain-language format. Applications shall be available in both electronic and paper formats and shall comply with the Office of Racial Equity’s most recent Language Access Report. (6) A Vermont resident who has a citizenship status that would otherwise exclude the resident from participating in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program shall be served under this Program, provided that the benefit for these residents is solely State-funded. The Department shall not retain data on the citizenship status of any applicant or participant once a child is no longer participating in the program, and it shall not request the citizenship status of any members of the applicant’s or participant’s family. Any records created pursuant to this subsection shall be exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act. (b)(1) An Enhanced Child Care Services Subsidy Program is established for families participating in the Reach Ahead program. (2) The Enhanced Child Care Services Subsidy Program established by this subsection shall be administered by the Department’s Child Development Division. The Commissioner shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of the Program pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25. (3) The subsidy authorized by this subsection shall be no greater than 100 percent of the subsidy provided in subsection (a) of this section. (4) A participating family shall remain eligible for the Enhanced Child Care Services Subsidy Program between 12 and 24 months as long as one or more dependent children of a working parent or parents are receiving child care services. The Commissioner for Children and Families may extend the subsidy beyond 24 months if the Commissioners for Children and Families and of Finance and Management determine jointly that an extension can be accommodated within appropriated resources. (5) The Enhanced Child Care Services Subsidy Program shall be funded through savings resulting from caseload reductions in the Reach Up program. If there are insufficient savings from caseload reductions to fund the Program, the Program shall be suspended or modified. Added 1987, No. 205 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; amended 2007, No. 30, § 23, eff. May 17, 2007; 2009, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § E.318.1; 2013, No. 198 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. July 1, 2015; 2017, No. 29, § 3; 2019, No. 72, § E.318; 2021, No. 45, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2021; 2023, No. 76, § 5, eff. Jan. 1, 2024; 2023, No. 76, § 5a, eff. Apr. 1, 2024; 2023, No. 76, § 5b, eff. July 1, 2024; 2023, No. 76, § 5c, eff. Oct. 1, 2024; 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 472, eff. Oct. 1, 2024; 2023, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § E.318.3, eff. July 1, 2024.

33 V.S.A. § 3513 Protective and family support child care services

3513. Protective and family support child care services The Division shall establish a program that subsidizes, in whole or in part, the cost of child care services provided to protective services children or to families for the purpose of preserving, rehabilitating, or reunifying such families. Added 1987, No. 205, (Adj. Sess.), § 6; amended 2013, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 64, eff. May 20, 2014.

33 V.S.A. § 3514 Payment to providers

3514. Payment to providers (a)(1) The Commissioner shall establish a payment schedule for purposes of reimbursing providers for full- or part-time child care services rendered to families who participate in the programs established under section 3512 or 3513 of this title. The payment schedule shall account for the age of the children served, and all providers in the same child care setting category shall receive a reimbursement rate payment, which shall be dependent upon whether the provider operates a child care center and preschool program, family child care home, or afterschool or summer care program. The reimbursement rate shall then be adjusted to reduce the differential between family child care homes and center-based child care and preschool programs by 50 percent. (2) Payments shall be based on enrollment. The Department, in consultation with the Office of Racial Equity and stakeholders, shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 that define “enrollment” and the total number of allowable absences to continue participating in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program. The Department shall minimize itemization of absence categories. (b) The Commissioner may establish a separate payment schedule for child care providers who have received specialized training, approved by the Commissioner, relating to protective or family support services. (c)(1) The payment schedule established by the Commissioner may reimburse providers in accordance with the results of the most recent Vermont Child Care Market Rate Survey. (2) The payment schedule shall include reimbursement rate caps tiered in relation to provider ratings in the Vermont STARS program. The lower limit of the reimbursement rate caps shall be not less than the 50th percentile of all reported rates for the same provider setting in each rate category. Added 1987, No. 205 (Adj. Sess.), § 6; amended 2005, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 111; 2021, No. 45, § 3, eff. Oct. 1, 2021; 2023, No. 76, § 8a, eff. July 1, 2023; 2023, No. 76, § 9, eff. Jan. 1, 2024; 2023, No. 76, § 9a, eff. July 1, 2024.

33 V.S.A. § 3515 Child care quality and capacity incentive program

3515. Child care quality and capacity incentive program (a) The Commissioner shall establish a child care quality and capacity incentive program for child care providers participating in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program pursuant to sections 3512 and 3513 of this title. Annually, consistent with funds appropriated for this purpose, the Commissioner may provide a child care provider with an incentive payment for the following achievements: (1) achieving a higher level in the quality rating and improvement system, including increasing access to and provision of culturally competent care and multilingual programming and providing other family support services similar to those provided in approved Head Start programs; (2) increasing infant and toddler capacity; (3) maintaining existing infant and toddler capacity; (4) establishing capacity in regions of the State that are identified by the Commissioner as underserved; (5) providing nonstandard hours of child care services; (6) completing a Commissioner-approved training on protective or family support services; and (7) other quality- or capacity-specific criteria identified by the Commissioner. (b) The Commissioner shall maintain a current incentive payment schedule on the Department’s website. Added 2023, No. 76, § 10, eff. July 1, 2024.

33 V.S.A. § 3516 Child care waitlist and application fees

3516. Child care waitlist and application fees A child care provider shall not charge an application or waitlist fee for child care services where the applying child qualifies for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program pursuant to section 3512 or 3513 of this title. A child care provider shall reimburse an individual who is charged an application or waitlist fee for child care services if it is later determined that the applying child qualified for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program at the time the fee or fees were paid. Added 2023, No. 76, § 11, eff. July 1, 2023.

33 V.S.A. § 3517 Child care tuition rates

3517. Child care tuition rates A child care provider shall ensure that its tuition rates are available to the public. A regulated child care provider shall not impose an increase on annual child care tuition that exceeds 1.5 times the most recent annual increase in the NAICS code 611, Educational Services. This amount shall be posted on the Department’s website annually. Added 2023, No. 76, § 12, eff. July 1, 2023; amended 2023, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § E.318.1, eff. July 1, 2024; 2023, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § E.318.2, eff. July 1, 2025.

33 V.S.A. § 3518 Child care provider ownership disclosure

3518. Child care provider ownership disclosure (a) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “Affiliate” means a person that directly or indirectly owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with another person. (2) “Controls,” “is controlled by,” and “under common control” mean the power to direct, or cause the direction or management and policies of a person, whether through the direct or beneficial ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise. A person who directly or beneficially owns 10 percent or more equity interest, or the equivalent thereof, of another person shall be deemed to control the person. (3) “Licensee” means a person that the Department approves to receive Child Care Financial Assistance Program funding for child care services pursuant to a provider rate agreement. (4) “Principal” means one of the following: (A) the president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, manager, or similar officer of a corporation as provided for by 11A V.S.A. § 8.40, nonprofit corporation as provided for by 11B V.S.A. § 8.40, mutual benefit enterprise as provided for by 11C V.S.A. § 822, cooperative as provided for by 11 V.S.A. § 1013, or worker cooperative corporation as provided for by 11 V.S.A. § 1089; (B) a director of a corporation as provided for by 11A V.S.A. § 8.01, nonprofit corporation as provided for by 11B V.S.A. § 8.01, mutual benefit enterprise as provided for by 11C V.S.A. § 801, cooperative as provided for by 11 V.S.A. § 1006, or worker cooperative corporation as provided for by 11 V.S.A. § 1089; (C) a member of a member-managed limited liability company as provided for by 11 V.S.A. § 4054; (D) manager of a manager-managed limited liability company as provided for by 11 V.S.A. § 4054; or (E) a partner of a partnership as provided for by 11 V.S.A. § 3212 or a general partner of a limited partnership as provided for by 11 V.S.A chapter 23. (b) Disclosure. The Department shall adopt procedures to require each licensee to disclose, as a condition of receiving Child Care Financial Assistance Program funding pursuant to a provider rate agreement: (1) the type of business organization of the licensee; (2) the identity of the licensee’s owners and principals; and (3) the identity of the owners and principals of the licensee’s affiliates. Added 2023, No. 76, § 12a, eff. July 1, 2023; amended 2023, No. 85 (Adj. Sess.), § 473, eff. July 1, 2024.

33 V.S.A. § 3519 Diversity, equity, and inclusion

3519. Diversity, equity, and inclusion The Department shall consult with the Office of Racial Equity in preparing all public materials and trainings related to the Child Care Financial Assistance Program. Added 2023, No. 76, § 12b, eff. July 1, 2023.

Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/33/035Fetched: 10/21/2026