The naughty and nice list is out on this years toys. Vermont’s Public Interest Research Group  (VPIRG) has released its annual report, Trouble in Toyland.

Voices would like to thank all of you who attended Voices’ and Public Assets’  annual conference Facts to Action: Getting Control of Vermont’s Budget Future.

“If there’s one thing Vermonters can agree on, it’s that all children deserve the same opportunities in life,” says Carlen Finn, Executive Director of Voices for Vermont’s Children and member of the Vermont Child Poverty Council.

New members turn $2,000 into $4,000 to improve the well-being of Vermont’s children and youth.

Vermont fared well compared to other states in an annual report on children’s welfare and health.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released it’s 20th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book, a national and state-by-state report that includes key measures and statistical trends on the condition of America’s children and families.

The Vermont Paid Sick Days Coalition commissioned the Center for Rural Studies at UVM to conduct a statewide telephone survey on paid sick days.

H.382 was introduced in 2009 and was referred to the Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Edwards (P-Brattleboro) , Rep. Paul Poirier  (I-Barre), and Rep. Michael Fisher (D-Lincoln). If H.382 became law:

At a press conference on May 27,  The Vermont Paid Sick Days Coalition

Voices honored former Governor Howard Dean, MD with the Vermont KIDS COUNT Award at our annual Making A Difference for Kids event on June 12.

It seems like a relatively simple thing. If you get sick, you shouldn’t have to choose between safeguarding your health or getting paid.

“Hard working Vermonters shouldn’t have to choose between being healthy and getting a paycheck,”

This isn’t your average tax protest: A group of Vermonters is urging the state to raise taxes as a way to save state programs now on the chopping block.

Just days after the historic veto override that made same-sex marriages legal in Vermont, it was back to business as usual under Montpelier’s Golden Dome.

Kathy Kilcourse of Montpelier arrived at the building housing the Department of Taxes shortly before 10 Wednesday morning to join a small crowd declaring their willingness to pay a bit more in taxes to save state programs.

Public investments in private-sector economic development offer the surest long-term path to prosperity for the approximately 60,000 Vermonters living in poverty, Gov. James Douglas said during a Statehouse summit Monday morning.

As the House Appropriations Committee dealt with its version of the state budget Monday, members of the Save Our State Coalition took to sidewalks and front steps across Vermont, urging lawmakers to oppose cuts to health care and human services proposed by the Douglas Administration.

WPTZ produced a segment about the S.O.S. rally in Middlebury.

A network of state and local child advocacy organizations

Good nutrition is important for physical and mental health at all ages, but especially for children as their bodies grow and their brains develop.