Claire Kendall, executive director of the Family Center of Washington County, told a legislative hearing that families with young children are experiencing elevated fear and material hardship after weeks of uncertainty about SNAP (3 Squares Vermont) benefits.

"This type of message just causes panic and fear in our community," Kendall said, describing recorded messages some families received saying they would not receive food benefits. Kendall testified on behalf of the Vermont Parent Child Center Network, which represents the state’s 15 Parent Child Centers and says it served more than 20,000 families last year.

Kendall told committee members that Parent Child Centers (PCCs) provide eight core, state-funded services to build family resilience, support child development and prevent maltreatment. PCCs also use a small portion of federally allocated Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) funds to offer concrete financial supports to families — for rent, utility bills, diapers and food — and to provide application assistance and language translation.

Kendall cited research from the Stanford Center on Early Childhood showing that material hardship and trade-offs between bills and food correlate with higher parental stress and worse early-development measures for children. "Babies and their caretakers need every opportunity to thrive," she said, adding that economic stability is foundational for child development.

Kendall said the network requests three actions in the FY27 budget: (1) build on the PCC-state partnership to extend concrete supports to more families; (2) add a Benefits Navigator position in each PCC to help families apply for and retain benefits; and (3) increase compensation and health benefits for PCC staff. The network’s FY27 request for those changes is an additional $1,800,000 for the integrated grant.

During questioning, Kendall confirmed that PCCs receive federal CBCAP funding targeted to child-abuse-prevention activities and that, in her region, the integrated grant was received in a timely fashion this year. She said CBCAP funds are routed through the state and distributed to PCCs for direct family support.

Kendall provided case examples: a newly arrived family of seven who had worked as translators in Afghanistan and who risked losing hundreds of dollars in food benefits, and a recently housed single mother who might have to choose between rent and food as winter approaches.

The PCC testimony emphasized the distinction between discussion and action: PCCs are asking the legislature to fund the staffing and direct-assistance measures described above; the hearing record does not show the committee taking formal action on the request during this session.

Proper names and authorities referenced in the testimony include the Vermont Parent Child Center Network, Family Center of Washington County, and federal CBCAP (Child Abuse Prevention) funding.

Ending: Kendall thanked the committee for the opportunity to testify and for attention to food security for families with young children.