SVMC Community Health Needs Assessment 2021 - Catalog - Page 37
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A 2020 publication from Let’s Grow Kids reported that 72% of infants likely to need care in Bennington
County do not have access to high-quality (4 or 5 star) programs. Additionally, 45% of toddlers and 4% of
preschoolers do not have access to high quality programs. An additional 331 infant slots, 71 toddler
slots, and 153 preschooler slots are needed to meet demand in Bennington County alone, illustrating
the scale of the need.31
Disparities in childcare identified by SVMC’s community health survey:
Those employed for wages were half as likely to indicate a major challenge with childcare,
compared to stay-at-home parents (5% versus 10%).
17% of Black or African American respondents shared that access to childcare was a major challenge.
High School
Other than Rensselaer County, each county within SVMC’s service area has a lower high school
graduation rate than the state average.32 As the supply of positions in manufacturing and other sectors
has dwindled, the positions available for people without a high school or bachelor’s degree have
become rarer. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a higher proportion of job loss for those without a
high school degree; estimates indicate that it will take years for these individuals to financially recover.32
SVMC recognizes the value of education at all levels and will continue to partner with other institutions
to ensure equitable access to high-quality education from childhood through professional and specialty
degrees.
Graduation Rates33
County
Bennington County
Windham County
Berkshire County
Washington County
Rensselaer County
Graduation
Rate
80%
79%
87%
80%
87%
State
Vermont 86%
Massachusetts 88%
New York 82%
31
Horwitz J, Hibbert SF, Reitz C, Roche E, Brouillette A. Stalled at the Start: Vermont’s Child Care Challenge. Let’s Grow Kids.
Published January 2020. https://www.letsgrowkids.org/client_media/files/pdf/StalledatStart2020.pdf
32 Parkinson C. COVID-19, educational attainment, and the impact on American workers. Monthly Labor Review. Bureau of
Labor Statistics. Published September 2020. https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2020/beyond-bls/pdf/covid-19-educationalattainment-and-the-impact-on-american-workers.pdf
33 High school graduation: an education measure. County Health Rankings & Roadmaps. University of Wisconsin Population
Health Institute: School of Medicine and Public Health with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 2021 County
Health Rankings using data from 2017-2018. https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
Community Health Needs Assessment 2021