Chloe Learey is the executive director of Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development in Brattleboro and serves as the steering committee chair of the Vermont Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance, as well as on the boards of the Vermont Community Loan Fund and Brattleboro Memorial Hospital.
BRATTLEBORO-Across Vermont and in communities like ours, the child-care workforce crisis is no longer just a looming concern. It is here, it is persistent, and it is holding families, employers, and entire regional economies back.
At the Winston Prouty Center for Child and Family Development, we see this challenge every day. Like many child care providers, we are working hard to recruit and retain qualified early childhood educators — people who are deeply committed to nurturing young children during the most critical years of development. Yet we are asking them to do this work within a system that has long been underfunded and undervalued.
Early childhood education is shifting toward professionalization with bills such as S.206, which proposes that early educators pursue higher credentials and meet increasingly rigorous standards.
These steps elevate the field, but the expectations must be matched with compensation and support that reflect the importance of the work. Too often, they are not.
At the same time, even when programs make strides to improve wages, another barrier stands in the way: housing.
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Like many sectors, such as health care, education, hospitality, and the skilled trades, child care is facing a workforce shortage that is exacerbated by a severe lack of affordable workforce housing. You can find a job here, but you can’t find a place to live.
This reality undermines even the best efforts to strengthen and professionalize the field.
Talented educators complete training, earn credentials, and commit to this career path, only to discover that they cannot afford to stay in the communities where they are most needed. Others leave for higher-paying fields or relocate to areas with more attainable housing options.
The consequences ripple outward.
When child care programs are understaffed, classrooms close or reduce capacity. Families struggle to find care. Parents are forced to cut back on work hours or leave their jobs entirely.
Employers across sectors feel the strain. The workforce shortage in child care quickly becomes a workforce shortage everywhere.
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That is why the Village at Winston Prouty is not just a housing project — it is a workforce solution.
By creating affordable, high-quality homes for the people who make our community function, the Village directly addresses one of the root causes of our staffing challenges.
It provides stability for early childhood educators and other essential workers, allowing them to live in the communities they serve. It helps ensure that the investments we are making in professionalizing the field are not lost to forces beyond our control. It reduces turnover, strengthens programs, and ultimately improves outcomes for children and families.
Equally important, it reflects a broader shift in how we think about community development. We cannot solve workforce shortages in isolation. Housing, child care, economic development, and quality of life are deeply interconnected. Investments in one area must support the others.
The Village is a step toward that more-integrated approach. It is an investment in people — in the educators who care for our children, in the families who rely on them, and in the long-term health of our region.
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As Mike Pieciak, Vermont state treasurer, said at a press conference on March 12 announcing an investment in the project, “the Village will create a stronger hiring pipeline for employers and service providers in our community, and it will support a stronger local economy.”
If we are serious about rebuilding and sustaining a strong workforce, we must be equally serious about ensuring that workers have a place to call home. Without that foundation, every other solution falls short.
The challenges are real, but so is the opportunity. With projects like The Village at Winston Prouty, we can begin to turn the tide — not just for child care, but for the entire community.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
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