Title 33, Title 33: Human Services

§ 3502. Child care facilities; school age care in public schools; 21st Century Fund (a) Unless exempted under subsection (b) of this section, a person shall not operate a child care facility without a license or operate a family child care home without registration from the Depar…

§ 3503. Corporal punishment prohibited (a) As used in this chapter, “corporal punishment” means the intentional infliction of physical pain upon the body of a child as a disciplinary measure. (b) No person employed by or agent of a licensed or registered child care facility shall…

§ 3504. Cannabis and tobacco use prohibited at child care facilities (a) No person shall be permitted to use cannabis as defined in 18 V.S.A. § 4201 or to cultivate cannabis, or use tobacco products or tobacco substitutes as defined in 7 V.S.A. § 1001, on the premises, both indoo…

§ 3505. Supplemental child care grants (a)(1)(A) The Commissioner for Children and Families may utilize up to one-half of one percent of funds appropriated for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program in a fiscal year for extraordinary financial relief to assist child care pro…

§ 3511. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Child” means an individual under 13 years of age. (2) “Child care facility” means any place or program operated as a business or service on a regular or continuous basis, whether for compensation or not, whose primary function is …

§ 3512. Child Care Financial Assistance Program; eligibility (a)(1) The Child Care Financial Assistance Program is established to subsidize the costs of child care for families that need child care services in order to obtain employment, to retain employment, or to obtain trainin…

§ 3513. Protective and family support child care services The Division shall establish a program that subsidizes, in whole or in part, the cost of child care services provided to protective services children or to families for the purpose of preserving, rehabilitating, or reunify…

§ 3514. Payment to providers (a)(1) The Commissioner shall establish a payment schedule for purposes of reimbursing providers for full- or part-time child care services rendered to families who participate in the programs established under section 3512 or 3513 of this title. The …

§ 3515. Child care quality and capacity incentive program (a) The Commissioner shall establish a child care quality and capacity incentive program for child care providers participating in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program pursuant to sections 3512 and 3513 of this titl…

§ 3516. Child care waitlist and application fees A child care provider shall not charge an application or waitlist fee for child care services where the applying child qualifies for the Child Care Financial Assistance Program pursuant to section 3512 or 3513 of this title. A chil…

§ 3517. Child care tuition rates A child care provider shall ensure that its tuition rates are available to the public. A regulated child care provider shall not impose an increase on annual child care tuition that exceeds 1.5 times the most recent annual increase in the NAICS co…

§ 3518. Child care provider ownership disclosure (a) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “Affiliate” means a person that directly or indirectly owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with another person. (2) “Controls,” “is cont…

§ 3519. Diversity, equity, and inclusion The Department shall consult with the Office of Racial Equity in preparing all public materials and trainings related to the Child Care Financial Assistance Program. (Added 2023, No. 76, § 12b, eff. July 1, 2023.)

§ 3522. Loan program (a) The State Economic Opportunity Office shall administer a low-interest loan program. (b) Loans may be made to persons unable to obtain conventional financing for the purpose of establishing or expanding or renovating a child care facility in this State. Th…

§ 3531. Child care – Building Bright Futures Fund (a) An early childhood services financing program is established to facilitate the development and expansion of early childhood service programs in the State. This financing program shall be administered by the Department for Chil…

§ 3541. Scholarships for current early childhood providers (a) There is established a need-based scholarship program for individuals employed by a regulated, privately operated center-based child care program or family child care home while acquiring credits in early childhood de…

§ 3543. Student loan repayment assistance (a)(1) There is established a need-based student loan repayment assistance program for the purpose of providing student loan repayment assistance to any individual employed by a regulated, privately operated center-based child care progra…

§ 3601. Purpose (a) The General Assembly recognizes the right of all early care and education providers to bargain collectively with the State over matters within the State’s control and identified as subjects of bargaining pursuant to subsection 3603(b) of this chapter. (b) The …

§ 3602. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Board” means the State Labor Relations Board established under 3 V.S.A. § 921. (2) “Collective bargaining” or “bargaining collectively” means the process by which the State and the exclusive representative of early care and educat…

§ 3603. Establishment of collective bargaining (a) Early care and education providers, through their exclusive representative, shall have the right to bargain collectively with the State through the Governor’s designee. (b)(1) Mandatory subjects of bargaining are limited to: (A) …

§ 3604. Rights of early care and education providers Early care and education providers shall have the right to: (1) organize, form, join, or assist any union or labor organization for the purpose of collective bargaining without any interference, restraint, or coercion; (2) barg…

§ 3605. Rights of the State Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to interfere with the right of the State to: (1) carry out the statutory mandate and goals of the Agency of Human Services and to use personnel, methods, and means in the most appropriate manner possible; (2) …

§ 3606. Bargaining unit (a) The bargaining unit shall be composed of licensed home child care providers, registered home child care providers, and legally exempt child care providers, as defined in this chapter, who have an agreement with the Department to accept a subsidy. (b) E…

§ 3607. Petitions for election; filing; investigations; hearings; determinations (a) A petition may be filed with the Board in accordance with rules prescribed by the Board: (1) By an early care and education provider or group of providers or any individual or labor organization …

§ 3608. Election; runoff elections (a) If a question of representation exists, the Board shall conduct a secret ballot election to determine the exclusive representative of the unit of early care and education providers. The original ballot shall be prepared to permit a vote agai…

§ 3609. Powers of representatives The exclusive representative shall be the exclusive representative of all the early care and education providers in the unit for the purposes of collective bargaining and the resolution of grievances. (Added 2013, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. …

§ 3610. Negotiated agreement; funding (a) If the State and the exclusive representative reach an agreement, the Governor shall request from the General Assembly an appropriation sufficient to fund the agreement in the next operating budget. If the General Assembly appropriates su…

§ 3611. Mediation; fact-finding; last best offer (a) If, after a reasonable period of negotiation, the exclusive representative and the State reach an impasse, the Board upon petition of either party may authorize the parties to submit their differences to mediation. Within five …

§ 3612. General duties and prohibited conduct (a) The State and all early care and education providers and their representatives shall exert every reasonable effort to make and maintain agreements concerning matters allowable under this chapter and to settle all disputes, whether…

§ 3613. Antitrust exemption The activities of early care and education providers and their exclusive representatives that are necessary for the exercise of their rights under this chapter shall be afforded State action immunity under applicable federal and State antitrust laws. T…

§ 3614. Rights unaltered (a) This chapter does not alter or infringe upon the rights of: (1) a parent or legal guardian to select and discontinue child care services of any early care and education provider; (2) an early care and education provider to choose, direct, and terminat…

§ 3615. Rules The Board shall make and may amend, rescind, and adopt such rules consistent with this chapter as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. (Added 2013, No. 187 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 5, 2014; amended 2021, No. 20, § 325.)

§ 3616. Appeal (a) Any person aggrieved by an order or decision of the Board issued under the authority of this chapter may appeal on questions of law to the Supreme Court. (b) An order of the Board shall not automatically be stayed pending appeal. A stay must first be requested …

§ 3617. Enforcement (a) Orders of the Board issued under this chapter may be enforced by any party or by the Board by filing a petition with the Civil Division of the Superior Court of Washington County or in the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county in which the act…

§ 3618. Automatic membership dues deduction Early care and education providers who are members of the labor organization shall have the right to automatic membership dues deductions. Upon receipt of a signed authorization to commence automatic membership dues deductions from an e…

§ 3619. Annual list of early care and education providers in bargaining unit (a) Annually, or on a more frequent basis if mutually agreed to by the State and the exclusive representative, the State shall provide the exclusive representative with a list of all providers in that ba…

§ 3701. Parent Child Center Network; eligibility (a) As used in this chapter: (1) “Concrete supports” means community services and resources to address the immediate needs of the family or contribute to the long-term well-being of the family, or both. (2) “Parent child center” me…

§ 3702. Funding (a) The Secretary of Human Services shall disperse a joint allocation for all parent child center services to the Parent Child Center Network, which shall distribute funding to each authorized parent child center. (b) The Agency shall consult with the Parent Child…

§ 3901. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Order of support” means any judgment or order for the support of dependent children issued by any court of the State of Vermont or another state or an order under an administrative proceeding of another state, including an order i…

§ 3902. Assignment of support rights by public assistance recipients; proceedings to establish support obligation (a) As a condition of eligibility for public assistance, each applicant or recipient shall assign to the Department any right to support from a responsible parent tha…

§ 3903. Child support debt (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any payment of Reach Up financial assistance made to or for the benefit of a dependent child creates a debt due and owing to the Department for Children and Families by any responsible parent in an amoun…

§ 3904. Distribution of proceeds Any money received by the Department from, or on behalf of a responsible parent, shall be distributed and credited as required by Title IV of the Social Security Act. On request of a responsible parent, the Department shall render an accounting of…

§ 4101. Office of Child Support; designation as IV-D agency; legislative purpose (a) The Office of Child Support in the Agency of Human Services shall be designated the IV-D agency for purposes of Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act. (b) The paramount interest of the St…

§ 4102. Responsibilities (a) The Office of Child Support shall be accountable and responsible for the operation of the federal IV-D program and shall be responsible for formulating the State Child Support Enforcement Plan as required under Title IV-D of the federal Social Securit…

§ 4103. Registry (a) The Office of Child Support shall establish a registry for the following purposes: (1) Processing child support collections and disbursements. (2) Maintaining records necessary for the receipt and disbursement of child support, including information on suppor…

§ 4104. Support overpayment (a) If the Office of Child Support determines that it has received an overpayment from an employer within 30 days of the overpayment, the Office shall return the overpayment to the obligor within one working day. (b) In cases where the Office of Child …