Frequently Asked Questions

Easterseals Vermont is a non-profit formed in 1985 by Vermont residents who identified gaps in services in our local communities. While we are proud to carry the name Easterseals, which has a 100-year tradition of providing quality services for children with disabilities or special needs, Easterseals Vermont runs independently. Our mission, services, and all financials, including fundraising, are determined and managed at the local level. We rely on state and local funding and the generosity of individual donors and businesses to ensure the unique services of Easterseals VT are accessible to the more than 1,813 Vermont residents who receive assistance annually.

The variety of programs and services we offer is shaped by our ongoing commitment to securing family-centered solutions for the challenges parents and children face. We work collaboratively with families and teams pursuing healthy attachments, trauma repair, quality mental health treatment, and permanency for children connected to the Department for Children and Families – Family Services Division. Our ongoing objective is to help build a strong future for Vermont children by assisting families with their needs as they learn and grow together.

A comprehensive list of programs includes:

• Child and Family Support: Family Time Coaching, Family Time Coordination, Care Coordination, Family Safety Planning, Family Finding, and Transportation.
• Post-Permanency Services: Supports families formed by adoption or guardianship that include in-home adjusted parenting education, consultation to treatment and school teams, and community resource referrals.
• Intensive Family-Based Services: Providing support to children and their families facing challenges that threaten their stability and safety at home and in their community through clinically guided assessments, case management, facilitating community connections, Family Safety Planning, and therapeutic services.
• Balanced & Restorative Justice: We enhance youth-focused restorative justice by creating a learning environment, identifying youth’s skills and resource gaps, and supporting youth to become productive and invested members of their community.
• Youth Development Program: Promoting independence for youth transitioning out of foster care to adulthood by identifying stable housing, securing employment, and encouraging post-secondary education, while helping fund supportive, healthy connections.
• Compass: Assists at-risk youth ages 12 to 23 and their families in developing well-being, education and employment, healthy and safe relationships, permanent connections, and stable living environments as they transition to adulthood.
• Substance Abuse Testing: Coordination of observed collections and communication of results supports parents in treatment who need to monitor progress while informing risk and safety when children and youth are receiving services from the Department for Children and Families – Family Services Division.

No, our services are not limited to specific types of disabilities; however, we support children with disabilities who have been connected or are currently connected to the state’s child protection system.

Easterseals VT prides itself on effectively partnering with the Department of Children and Families – Family Services Division, designated mental health agencies, schools, and agencies like ours that commit to supporting families. We work hard to cultivate and maintain these solid relationships within the districts we currently serve so that our work can have a more significant impact on parents and children.

Easterseals VT receives funding from various sources, including private insurers, government agencies, and fee-for-service. Easterseals VT also relies on charitable contributions from individuals to make our services accessible to as many people as possible. Charitable contributions help cover the difference between actual program costs and what our clients can afford. Please help us continue providing exceptional services by making an online donation.

When you donate to Easterseals VT, your money stays in-state and supports local programs and services. You can feel good knowing that every dollar you contribute makes a real difference to your neighbors and your community.

Easterseals, headquartered in Chicago, assists more than 70 affiliates through management training, implementation of best practices, and consultation services.

Through our national network of affiliates like Easterseals NH & VT, we provide essential services and on-the-ground support to more than 1.5 million people each year — from early childhood programs for the critical first five years, to autism services, to medical rehabilitation and employment programs, to veterans’ services, and more. Our public education, policy, and advocacy initiatives positively shape perceptions and address the urgent and evolving needs of the one in four Americans living with disabilities today.