Audit Exposes Dangerous Oversight Failures in Vermont Child Care Threatening Safety and Federal Funds

In a concerning development that raises urgent questions about the efficacy of state governance, Vermont State Auditor Doug Hoffer’s recent report uncovers glaring deficiencies in how Vermont oversees its child care providers. These failures jeopardize not only the safety of vulnerable children but also threaten to strip away crucial federal funding, potentially costing the state more than half a million dollars.How Can We Trust a System That Lets Unvetted Child Care Workers Begin Before Background Checks?The audit highlights a disturbing pattern: prolonged delays—averaging 77 days—for completing background checks on new child care staff, far exceeding the federally mandated 45-day limit....