Updated: February, 2023

Author: Planning Unit, Vermont Department of Health

Following the Great Recession the percentage of Vermonters age 17 or younger living below 100% of the poverty level spiked to 17% in 2010. Since that time it has steadily decreased to 11% in 2021. Since this data is presented for the state as a whole, it does not tell the entire story, as we know that the percentage of children and youth living below the poverty level varies between towns and counties.

You can find more data on regional differences in our Public Health Data Explorer dashboard.

Poverty can have severe and lifelong impacts on health and development, starting from the prenatal period, and well into infancy and childhood. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics:

Children who experience poverty, particularly during early life or for an extended period, are at risk of a host of adverse health and developmental outcomes through their life course. Poverty has a profound effect on specific circumstances, such as birth weight, infant mortality, language development, chronic illness, environmental exposure, nutrition, and injury. Child poverty also influences genomic function and brain development by exposure to toxic stress, a condition characterized by “excessive or prolonged activation of the physiologic stress response systems in the absence of the buffering protection afforded by stable, responsive relationships.” Children living in poverty are at increased risk of difficulties with self-regulation and executive function, such as inattention, impulsivity, defiance, and poor peer relationships. Poverty can make parenting difficult, especially in the context of concerns about inadequate food, energy, transportation, and housing. (AAP COUNCIL ON COMMUNITY PEDIATRICS. Poverty and Child Health in the United States. Pediatrics. 2016; 137(4):e20160339)

Programming and initiatives to eliminate or lessen on the economic, social, and health impacts of poverty on children and families take many forms and must engage a wide variety of partners from multiple communities, including governmental, private nonprofit, faith-based, business, and other philanthropic organizations.

A vast number of partners throughout the state are engaged in work to reduce the percentage of Vermonters living below the federal poverty level, and the health impact. In addition to programs for children, youth, and families within the Health Department, many partners in health and healthcare are engaged in this work both directly and indirectly:

• Building Bright Futures
• Community health centers and Bi-State Primary Care Association
• ViNAs of Vermont
• Vermont hospitals
• Medical, dental, and mental health providers
• Health advocacy organizations
• Department for Children and Families Economic Services and Child Development divisions

In addition, this work could not take place without partnerships within the Agency of Human Services, and other agencies within Vermont state government, or without the leadership and engagement of many other organizations throughout the state.

The Commissioner of Health’s designee (Maternal and Child Health Director) sits of the Vermont Childhood Poverty Council. The Vermont Child Poverty Council is created to examine child poverty in Vermont and to make recommendations to the governor and general assembly on methods of improving the financial stability and well-being of children.

It takes a multifaceted and multidisciplinary approach to reduce poverty rates with interventions both within the healthcare system (such as increasing health insurance coverage and access to affordable, quality healthcare), as well as outside it.

Research suggests that within the healthcare system an important challenge is to motivate providers to take personal and institutional ownership of the problems created by health disparities and the role of poverty on health within their own practices. Providers have a unique ability to be champions of increasing opportunities for health. Notably, the newest version of Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 4th Edition, has a new focus on screening for and providing targeted referrals and interventions on social determinants of health (including aspects of poverty such as food, housing, and energy insecurity).

The Vermont Child Poverty Council has named the following procedures, priorities, and benchmarks for improvement and funding:

• Workforce training and placement to promote career progression, for parents of children living in poverty;
• Educational opportunities, including higher education opportunities, and advancement for parents and children, including, but not limited to, pre-literacy, literacy, and family literacy programs;
• Affordable housing for parents and children;
• Early care and education programs for children and their families;
• After-school programs and mentoring programs for children and their families;
• Affordable health care access for parents and children, including access to mental health services and family planning;
• Treatment programs and services, including substance abuse programs and services, for parents and children;
• Accessible childhood nutrition programs; and
• The Reach-Up program and other public benefit programs through the Agency of Human Services serving low income families.

The American Academy of Pediatrics also recommends the following public-policy opportunities:

• Invest in young children.
• Protect and expand funding for essential benefits programs that assist low-income and poor children.
• Support 2-generation strategies that focus on helping children and parents simultaneously.
• Support and expand strategies that promote employment and that increase parental income.
• Support policy measures that improve community infrastructure, including affordable housing and public spaces.
• Improve access to quality health care and create incentives to improve population health with the goal of reducing health disparities.
• Enhance health care financing to support comprehensive care for at-risk families.
• Make a national commitment to fully fund home visiting programs for all children living in low-income or poor households.
• Support integrated models of care in the medical home that promote effective parenting and school readiness.
• Improve national poverty definitions and measures.
• Support a comprehensive research agenda to improve the understanding of the effects of poverty on children and to identify and refine interventions that improve child health outcomes.

Vermont is extremely proud of its near-universal access to health care for children. Vermont Medicaid covers children up to 300% of the federal poverty level and provides comprehensive coverage. All Vermont Pediatricians accept Medicaid. Vermont also provides a wide-range of family support and care coordination in primary care medical home, including the Blueprint for Health, Vermont’s Children with Special Health Needs program, and innovative pilot models, such as Project Dulce. In partnership with the Department of Health, the Vermont Child Health Improvement Program also provides quality improvement training and coaching to increase screening, identification, and referrals for children and families that need additional supports.

Antipoverty and safety net programs are particularly important for child health and well-being, including programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and child tax credit and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (federal funds to support federal states to fund work and family support programs).

Furthermore, The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the school lunch program, and SNAP (food stamps), are all aimed at providing needed nutritional supports to families, as well as mitigating the toxic impact of poverty. WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. WIC in Vermont is a successful anti-poverty program.

High-quality affordable child care and evidenced-based home visiting have proven effects to support children’s healthy growth and development in all families, and especially those experiencing poverty. Vermont Birth to Five is working to ensure every Vermont child has access to high quality and affordable early care and education by 2025 and Let’s Grow Kids is a statewide campaign to support this mission. Federal and state funding supports evidence-based home visiting programs that have proven success in promoting maternal and newborn health; preventing child injuries, abuse, neglect, or maltreatment; reducing emergency department visits; improving school readiness and achievement; reducing crime or domestic violence; improving family economic self-sufficiency; and improving coordination and referrals for other community resources and supports. Vermont has a number of highly success home visiting programs.

Another key strategy to support all families is the early identification of needs and connection to services.Help Me Grow is an effective, efficient system strategy for advancing developmental promotion, early detection and linkage to resources. Help Me Grow Vermont (HMG) proactively addresses families’ concerns about their child’s behavior, development and learning by making a connection to community-based programs, services, and high-quality parent education resources. Children’s Integrated Services (CIS) offers early intervention, family support, and prevention services that help ensure the healthy development and well-being of children, pre-birth to age 5. Services are available at low or no cost to families.

The Health in All Policies Task Force is a cabinet level body established by Executive Order No. 7-15 to identify programs, policies and strategies to improve the health of Vermonters, especially vulnerable populations and to coordinate across agencies around issues of healthy communities. The Task Force has identified equity, affordability and access as its core values. We plan to reduce poverty rates through our collaboration with the Health in All Policies Task Force, as well as through our partnerships with organizations across the state that support the best practices listed above.

This data is for Vermonters living below the federal poverty level, which varies depending on family size. Data is provided for the last year five-year estimates. Five-year estimates are used because it is the largest data set available and therefore provides the most accurate estimates.

American Community Survey data can be found on the U.S. Census data site.