VBREE Regional Initiative Background
The Virginia Business Roundtable for Early Education (VBREE) was founded in 2023 with the belief that Virginia’s prosperity and quality of life are inextricably dependent upon a strong early childhood care and education system. VBREE’s mission is to sustain and grow, through strategic financing and innovation, the supply of high quality, affordable and accessible child care, driving critical and multi-faceted benefits for the Commonwealth.
In July 2024, the Shovel Ready Virginia Task Force was launched under the banner of VBREE to convene top executives across economic development, business, and education sectors of the Commonwealth to more deeply understand the root causes of persistent gaps in child care supply. After conducting a 12-month exploration of strategies and solutions that specifically address these gaps, the Task Force issued a report in July 2025 outlining recommendations to advance VBREE priorities for child care progress across all regions in Virginia, including through the creation of the VBREE Regional Initiative.
VBREE Regional Initiative Strategic Phases
Three strategic phases of the Initiative build toward a regional certification that demonstrates a region’s commitment that “We mean business with child care.”
- GET READY – Mobilize regional delegations with comprehensive representation
Bring together the power of business, government, economic and workforce development, and philanthropic leaders to leverage existing statewide and regional structures, mobilize commitment to child care as infrastructure, and inform new innovations and partnerships through the full formation of VBREE regional delegations and signed statements of commitment. - GET SET – Build will and collective action for VBREE Regional Initiative strategies
Secure common understanding of regional child care infrastructure and mobilize cross-sector action to address specific challenges, leverage unique opportunities, and yield returns through development of Regional Action Plans. - GET GOING – Implement Regional Action Plans and strive toward regional Certification
Incentivize and recognize the accomplishment of certain actions that reflect commitment to and progress toward advancing the task force report recommendations through a Regional Business-Forward/Child Care-Friendly Certification.
Expected Timeline
