BRATTLEBORO — While it might be true that Vermont is at a crisis point in our child-protection system, we have people and programs in communities throughout the state working to address the thorniest issues currently plaguing Vermont.
They do so through Vermont’s 15 Parent Child Centers, which have been working with community partners to ensure that families get the help they need to give their children the best possible start in life.
Yet for the past 20 years, Parent Child Centers have been doing the work without an increase in the base funding.
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Here in Brattleboro, Early Education Services offers an array of parenting supports for young families.
EES offered more than 1,750 events for parents and families last year, including Young Parents Support Group, Welcome Baby visits, Playgroups in three towns, socialization events, Parent Committee meetings, Policy Council, and many field trips to local venues.
Overall, participants reported an increased level of confidence in their parenting abilities; connections to community resources, networking, and friendships; and increased knowledge about preparing children for school.
Dedicated Dads, one such program, support fathers.
One participant began to attend shortly after his relationship with his son’s mother ended about a year ago. He shared that he needed the support offered by EES services because he felt that “the deck was stacked against him.”
He was experiencing very limited contact with his child and ongoing arguments with his son’s mother over parent contact and agreeable financial support for his child’s care. This dad experienced ongoing setbacks in court and was frustrated with his inability to establish positive relationships with his son and ex-girlfriend.
By attending EES’s Dedicated Dads groups, this father learned to foster healthy relationships and build positive communication skills. Additionally, he worked on understanding the importance of accepting boundaries that he might not agree with.
This dad reports now that his ongoing challenges in his family relationships have changed from supervised visitations and arguing over differences to shared parenting and healthier communication.
He is involved in his son’s classroom and community activities, including fatherhood services and activities. He recently attended this year’s Fatherhood Conference in Mystic, Conn. to share his story and talk about the support he has received from our agency.
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Through these core services that focus on early intervention and prevention efforts, Vermont taxpayers are saving millions of dollars. Our request to policy makers and budget writers is to bring the base funding up to $135,000 for each Parent Child Center and to include a cost-of-living adjustment annually.
To accomplish this goal, the base appropriation must be $2,025,000.
As policy makers make tough budget choices this year, we hope they will keep Parent Child Centers in the forefront of our work to support vulnerable families.