Clik here to view.
Vt. kids rank high in health and education, but less so in poverty and food...
Family Center executive director Lee Lauber speaks at a press conference alongside Gov. Peter Shumlin, at the Family Center in Montpelier. VTD Photo/Nat Rudarakanchana Gov. Peter Shumlin today...
View ArticleStannard: Who’s to blame?
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Bob Stannard, a former lobbyist and author. This piece first appeared in the Bennington Banner. Is it just me or does it seem as though we are seeing more and more...
View ArticleKids Count ranks Vermont second in child well-being
Vermont children are better off than their counterparts in every state except New Hampshire, according to a report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Jersey rounded out...
View ArticleJoseph & Leas: Air Force understates F-35 health risks to children and adults
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Richard Joseph of Winooski and James Marc Leas, a patent lawyer in South Burlington. While, to its credit, the Air Force revised draft Environmental Impact Statement...
View ArticleNevin Zablotsky: Protecting children from secondhand smoke
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Nevin Zablotsky, DMD, a periodontist who practices in South Burlington. Over the past 15 years, I have lectured dental and medical professionals across the country...
View ArticleMartine Victor: A bonanza of WiFi trumps our children
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Martine Victor, a founding member of StopSmeters.org, a group formed to bring attention to the health issues from smart meters and electromagnetic radiation. She...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Toxic chemical regulation overwhelmingly supported in House vote
In one of the most decisive votes of the session the Vermont House supported the regulation of toxic chemicals found in children’s products. The vote was 114-27. The bill, S.239, gives the Vermont...
View ArticleSenate approves bill that limits rights of biological fathers of children...
The Senate on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to a bill that limits the rights of biological fathers whose children were conceived as the result of a sexual assault. The legislation lays out court...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Brattleboro students helped launch rape custody law
Stacy Blackadar, a former student at Brattleboro Union High School, helped champion a child custody bill passed by the Vermont Legislature last session. Brattleboro Reformer file photo Editor’s note:...
View ArticleJulie Ann Hounchell: Smoking, cars and children
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Julie Ann Hounchell, APRN, is a nurse practitioner in pediatric pulmonology at the Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care. It was first published...
View ArticleMatt Fisken: Protecting precious passengers
Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Matt Fisken, a freelance energy adviser, permaculturist and stay-at-home dad who lives in Hartford. Vermont’s ban on using handheld phones while driving, which goes into...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Budget proposal raises worries of waitlist for child care subsidy
Youngsters play at a child care center in Montpelier. File photo by Alicia Freese A state program that helps low-income families afford child care is not slated for an increase in the state’s budget...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vermont facing shortage of psychiatric beds for kids
The Department of Mental Health is warning about a shortage of voluntary psychiatric beds for children after the news that two hospitals near Vermont’s borders in neighboring states are either closing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Child care providers say new regulations will be costly
Efforts at child care reform have been greeted with ambivalence by some providers who are concerned the changes are too steep. New regulations for child care providers, written by the Child Development...
View ArticlePanel hears about link between child care, economic security
BURLINGTON — Athena Rork, a Winooski mother, remembers getting a distressing phone call at a time when her fledgling small business was breaking even and starting to grow. “‘Your child care assistance...
View ArticleChloe Learey: The dismantling of the Vermont Child Development Division
This commentary is by Chloe Learey, executive director of the 50-year old Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development in Brattleboro. She serves on the Building Bright Futures State...
View ArticleVermont is 4th in the US for child well-being, annual ranking says
Vermont ranks fourth in the nation for overall child well-being, according to KIDS COUNT, an annual 50-state report produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, an influential national child welfare...
View ArticlePeter Langella: Children, elders, and our most vulnerable are everything
This commentary is by Peter Langella of Moretown, who works as a high school and college educator, and is the parent of a young child ineligible to be vaccinated. “The moral test of government is how...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What to expect from the youth vaccine rollout in Vermont
A youth vaccination clinic at Spaulding High School in Barre on May 19. State health officials say school-based clinics will be a key part of the vaccine rollout for 5- to 11-year-olds. Photo by Mike...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vermont faces a shortage of suitable foster homes
The state Department for Children and Families’ Brattleboro office. Photo by Mike Faher/VTDigger There is a shortage of foster homes in Vermont, and the pandemic is at least partially to blame....
View ArticleScott Gillette: Damned statistics and Covid-19
This commentary is by Scott Gillette of Hancock, who reports he does know how to read between the lines. VTDigger is at risk of making itself a tool of the state government by reporting “the facts” of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Vermont Conversation: A literacy crusader fights poverty and prejudice with...
The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues with politicians, activists, artists, changemakers and citizens who are...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Medicaid reenrollment is underway, and it’s complicated
Medina Loncarevic of the Community Health Centers’ Patient Support Center in Burlington on Friday, April 14, 2023. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Medina Loncarevic’s advice about health insurance is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale: Voting on gun safety from the pediatrician’s office
This commentary is by state Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden Southeast District. On April 13, my husband and I were overjoyed to welcome a baby girl into the world. She is our first child and...
View Article