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Child & Youth Development

The Agency of Human Services envisions a Vermont in which children and youth have access to early childhood care and education services, as well as support during school years, to promote healthy development, resilience, and fulfillment in their lives. AHS delivers supportive programs and services to ensure that all Vermont children and youth can thrive and achieve their potential.

Vision for Vermont
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Why Is This Important?

 

We envision Vermont as a place where people prosper; children and families are safe and have strong, loving connections; and individuals have the opportunity to fully develop their potential. Research shows that what happens in early childhood lays the foundation for how children's brains develop, how they do at school, and how they interact with the world throughout their lives. 

Department for Children and Families
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What We Do

Children’s Integrated Services (CIS) delivers early intervention, family support, and prevention services that help ensure the healthy development and well-being of children, from before birth up through age 5. The CIS State Team within the Child Development Division (CDD) administers CIS. Children's Integrated Services (CIS) | Department for Children and Families (vermont.gov)

Who We Serve

Through contracts between CDD CIS and community partners, CIS serves pregnant and postpartum people, children ages birth through 5 (and through 12 for Specialized Child Care), and early childhood education and afterschool regulated programs. Eighty-two percent of CIS clients are Medicaid recipients and approximately 50% receive CIS Early Intervention.

How We Impact

CIS is an innovative model unique to Vermont. It is designed to improve child, family, and program outcomes by providing client-centered holistic services, effective service coordination, individualized service plans, and flexible funding to tailor services to client and regional needs.  A CIS Coordinator and three collaborative teams (administrative, consultative, and referral/intake) in each region guide and sustain service integration.

There are 4 key sets of services within CIS. They all promote healthy child development, connect clients with community resources, and employ a strengths-based approach. They are:

  • Early Intervention (EI): Services for infants and toddlers, birth to age 3, who are experiencing a developmental delay or have a medical condition with a high probability of resulting in developmental delay or disability, and their families.
  • Strong Families Vermont Home Visiting (SFVT HV): Home or community visits for families during pregnancy, as well as with young children from birth to age 6, who have questions or concerns about parenting or seek short term support to address needs. Health and well-being, feeding and nutrition, early learning, and social emotional development are all possible areas of focus. SFVT includes two evidence-based models: Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting (MECSH) delivered by nurses and Parents As Teachers (PAT) delivered by family support home visitors.
  • Early Childhood and Family Mental Health (ECFMH): Services for children birth to age 6 who are experiencing social, emotional, or behavioral challenges, and/or seek support to effectively utilize community services, and their families. ECFMH also consults with and educates early childhood education programs and other organizations regarding children’s healthy development, social interactions, self-regulation, and access to mental health services.
  • Specialized Child Care (SCC): Services for families with children ages 6 weeks to age 13 with high needs who seek to connect to and experience success in high-quality early childhood education and afterschool regulated programs. SCC also supports regulated programs in accessing training and resources so they are able to safely and successfully include all children in their programs.
PM
HY2 2023
73%
2
P
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Current Trend
What We Do

Strengthening Families Child Care provides grants to community child care programs throughout Vermont to ensure affordable access to high quality comprehensive early care and education and afterschool programs for children and families challenged by economic instability and other environmental risk factors.

Who We Serve

These grants serve:

  • Children/families eligible for and participating in the CDD Child Care Financial Assistance Program (at least 25% of enrolled children).
  • Children/families who are receiving specialized child care services: including children with an open case with the Family Services Division of the Department for Children and Families (including foster children), children in families participating in Reach Up, refugee children and teen parents.
How We Impact

The following impacts on intended by these grants:

  • Documented use of the Center for Social Policy Strengthening Families Program Assessment tool through submission of outcomes and related program plan.
  • Continuity of care improves as measured by attendance records and compared to participants in CCFAP including specialized care in other non Strengthening Families programs.
  • 70% of parents report positive family experiences (protective factors) as part of their overall experience of having an enrolled child in the program.
Budget Information

Strengthening Families Child Care

SFY23 Actual

SFY24 Projected

SFY25 Governor Recommended

Program Budget

$978,676

$726,091

$1,110,000 (not final)

 

PM
HY1 2023
849
1
PM
HY1 2023
602
1
P
Time Period
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What We Do

 

Children’s Integrated Services (CIS) delivers early intervention, family support, and prevention services that help ensure the healthy development and well-being of children, from before birth up through age 5. The CIS State Team within the Child Development Division (CDD) administers CIS. Children's Integrated Services (CIS) | Department for Children and Families (vermont.gov)

Who We Serve

Through contracts between CDD CIS and community partners, CIS serves pregnant and postpartum people, children ages birth through 5 (and through 12 for Specialized Child Care), and early childhood education and afterschool regulated programs. Eighty-two percent of CIS clients are Medicaid recipients and approximately 50% receive CIS Early Intervention.

How We Impact

CIS is an innovative model unique to Vermont. It is designed to improve child, family, and program outcomes by providing client-centered holistic services, effective service coordination, individualized service plans, and flexible funding to tailor services to client and regional needs.  A CIS Coordinator and three collaborative teams (administrative, consultative, and referral/intake) in each region guide and sustain service integration.

There are 4 key sets of services within CIS. They all promote healthy child development, connect clients with community resources, and employ a strengths-based approach. They are:

  • Early Intervention (EI): Services for infants and toddlers, birth to age 3, who are experiencing a developmental delay or have a medical condition with a high probability of resulting in developmental delay or disability, and their families.
  • Strong Families Vermont Home Visiting (SFVT HV): Home or community visits for families during pregnancy, as well as with young children from birth to age 6, who have questions or concerns about parenting or seek short term support to address needs. Health and well-being, feeding and nutrition, early learning, and social emotional development are all possible areas of focus. SFVT includes two evidence-based models: Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting (MECSH) delivered by nurses and Parents As Teachers (PAT) delivered by family support home visitors.
  • Early Childhood and Family Mental Health (ECFMH): Services for children birth to age 6 who are experiencing social, emotional, or behavioral challenges, and/or seek support to effectively utilize community services, and their families. ECFMH also consults with and educates early childhood education programs and other organizations regarding children’s healthy development, social interactions, self-regulation, and access to mental health services.
  • Specialized Child Care (SCC): Services for families with children ages 6 weeks to age 13 with high needs who seek to connect to and experience success in high-quality early childhood education and afterschool regulated programs. SCC also supports regulated programs in accessing training and resources so they are able to safely and successfully include all children in their programs.
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What We Do

The Youth Development Program helps young adults formerly in DCF custody to achieve safe, stable housing through flexible financial assistance. The program is supported by the Department for Children and Families.

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What We Do

The BARJ program is an arm of the youth justice system that provides support to youth who are at-risk for involvement in the justice system, or have been adjudicated and may or may not be on probation with DCF - Family Services.  The primary goal of the BARJ program is to support youth involved in, or at risk of becoming involved in the justice system by providing restorative interventions that reduce or eliminate further involvement in the system.

Who We Serve

BARJ serves youth who are at risk of becoming involved with the justice system, have been adjudicated or truant from school.

How We Impact

The purpose of this contract is to provide restorative services that focus on accountability and competency development of the youth, and community safety, while including the victims and the community in repairing the harm caused.  The Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ) program is successful because it offers a variety of supports and services that vary depending on the individual needs of the youth and family.  The BARJ program works with youth to support them in:

  • Building upon their protective factors; 
  • Building upon their self-regulation in natural settings; and
  • Not committing new offenses.
Budget Information
BARJ

SFY23 Actual

SFY24 Projected

SFY25 Governor Recommended

Program Budget

$942,295

$1,704,798

$2,038,051 (not final)

 

Department of Mental Health
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Time Period
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What We Do

The vision for Child, Adolescent and Family Services is for all children and families to be emotionally healthy. Our mission is to assure timely delivery of effective prevention, early intervention, and behavioral health treatment and supports through a family-centered system of care for all children and families in Vermont. The Child, Adolescent, and Family Unit at the Department of Mental Health works closely with its network of Designated Agencies and one Specialized Service Agency. This sytem of agencies provide services that such as prevention, early intervention and community consultation, family supports, clinical assessment and treatment, immediate response acute care, and intensive residential placements.

Who We Serve

The Department of Mental Health, under the authority of the Commissioner of Mental Health and contracts with designated public or private non-profit agencies, assures planning and coordination of services “needed to assist children and adolescents with or at risk for a severe emotional disturbance.” However, services are for any child, adolescent, or family who are seeking support.

How We Impact
PM
SFY 2023
9,799
1
P
Time Period
Current Actual Value
Current Trend
What We Do

The Department of Mental Health is a major partner in the Agency of Human Services Integrating Family Services initiative. IFS brings together different programs and funding streams within AHS to create a single, flexible service delivery and payment system for services and supports to children, youth and their families so that practice and planning better match their needs.

DMH has two participating providers: Counseling Services of Addison County (CSAC) and Northeast Counseling and Support Services (NCSS). These providers work with the Parent Child Centers in their respective regions.

Who We Serve

This initiative provides supports and services to children, youth and families (prenatal to age 22).

How We Impact

Bringing these programs and funding streams together the following performance measures focus on whether Vermonters are better off as a result of this initiative. They do so by looking at the quality and efficiency of these programs and services.

Budget Information

Budget description: Childrens Community Services to include Emergency Services, Childrens case rates, peer services and Misc. Grants

FY 22 Actual FY 23 Budget FY 24 Draft Governor Recommend
$53,176,860 $58,881,465 $58,981,662
PM
FYQ2 2024
1,071
2
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What We Do

Success Beyond Six (SB6) has three main programs [1) School-Based Clinical Services, 2) School-Based Behavioral Services, and 3) Concurrent Education Rehabilitation and Treatment (CERT)] with each program being grounded in trauma-informed practices and evidence-based approaches. Additionally, these programs operate with a focus on working with students in the context of their family, community, and in collaboration with other system partners. Utilizing SB6 programs allows Vermont schools to bring expertise in mental health practice to school-based teams while also providing the additional structure of clinical supervision, administrative support for billing and reporting, ability to link with other state designated agency services, and oversight and accountability to the State.

 

Who We Serve

SB6 Programs support the following populations of Vermont students:

  • Medicaid-enrolled students with mental health concerns
  • School-wide efforts for mental health and wellness within a multi-tiered system of support
  • Students in Special Education who have an emotional disability
  • Students in Special Education who have intensive needs on the autism spectrum
How We Impact

Overall, the SB6 Programs focus on the outcome measure of whether Vermonters are better off as a result of these programs. The goal of SB6 is to deliver comprehensive mental health supports effectively to Vermont students, so they can be available to learn to their highest potential.

Budget Information

DMH Program Budget (Summary Level)

FY 22 Actual FY 23 Budget FY 24 Draft Governor Recommend
$55,307,348 $72,250,289 $72,250,289
PM
SFY 2023
2,990
1

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