Legislative
Pledges
In 2026, the Vermont Children’s Alliance (VCA) has committed to several pledges to help create effective change in Vermont for our children and most vulnerable population: those that endure sexual and physical violence. Unlike a legislative agenda, the VCA leverages Policy and Legislative EDucational Goals and Strategies to help inform law and policymakers about the impact of various initiatives that may need to be amended or created, to best serve this population.
IDENTIFY AND INCORPORATE THE CHILD ADVOCACY MOVEMENT IN VERMONT’S STATUTES
Adjustments in statute to ensure the Child Advocacy Center and Multidisciplinary Team are included alongside Special Investigations Units for information sharing across the disciplines across several statutes, establish uniform language to ensure inclusion
TITLE IX
Adjustments in statute to ensure the Child Advocacy Center and Multidisciplinary Team are included at the very beginning of the school’s Title IX investigatory work. Create policy to allow schools to work alongside the centers and teams that are specially trained to address the needs of sexual abuse allegations
CHILD TORTURE LAW
Join 36+ states that have added elements to their statutes that address the severity and complexities of child torture, its intentionality, long-term ramifications for children and their communities adopt language that is agreeable for Vermont from one of the many existing examples
EQUITABLE SANE CARE ACCESS
Engage statewide partners along with the SANE board to further the mission of equitable Pediatric SANE care throughout VT and consider a statewide on-call system separate from all hospitals/medical employers, funded by the state, to ensure availability for expert Pediatric SANE care at all times statewide. Increase training opportunities for more nurses to become Pediatric SANE certified with didactic training increase clinical learning opportunities, collaborate with other states develop several satellite Pediatric SANE care locations throughout the state to reduce wait times, shame, and barriers to accessing care
INCREASE FUNDING
Increase allocation from the General Fund to increase funding available to CACs. CACs have never received an increase in general fund support since the funding stream was created.