While Vermont has been facing some austere state budgets in the years since the pandemic, there are moments when money and opportunities arrive at the same time.
Last week’s announcement that Vermont could receive some $92.7 million (or more) in a multi-state settlement with Meta was welcome. It resolves allegations that Meta knowingly designed its social media platforms to be addictive and exposed young users to serious mental health harms.
The agreement, part of a national settlement that could bring Meta’s total payout to $17.1 billion, marks the largest single-company settlement in Vermont history, according to Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark.
How that money would be spent will be up to lawmakers. While Vermonters have been demanding cuts to tax bills and efforts toward affordability, there is a moment here that requires our full attention.
A coalition of children’s advocates argue that lawmakers must “ keep young people involved in and at the center of every decision, and to maximize the impact this settlement has on the well-being of Vermont’s children and youth.”
According to the Fund IRL Vermont coalition, “these dollars should not be viewed as a windfall for the state’s general fund. History shows that settlement funds do not automatically reach the young people they’re intended to help without clear direction, guardrails, and accountability.” (For more, go to FundIRL.org.)
We would agree that money should be used in the spirit of the settlement — most notably toward protecting our children from harm and building out systems that support and help Vermont families on the whole, whether through childcare, daycare, or after-school programming.
“This settlement is an important step toward holding social media companies accountable for the impact their platforms have had on young people’s mental health and well-being,” said Nicole Miller, executive director of Vermont Afterschool. “But accountability alone isn’t enough. It must be paired with real-world connection in safe third spaces — the developmental ecosystems with a proven track record of nurturing the mental health of youth through building relationships, developing self-confidence, and cultivating a sense of belonging.”
According to the news release, while the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that Vermont teen mental health has improved in recent years, one quarter of Vermont’s youth struggle with mental health. That is too many.
Applying the funds to continued investment in programs, services and resources that foster youth mental health is paramount to ensuring this settlement positively impacts the well-being of Vermont’s young people, the news release states.
We have said as much in a series of recent editorials, also raising concern not just about the long-term effects of toxic social media habits but also toward addressing the concerns raised in the survey. Vermont kids need additional support mechanisms. So do Vermont families.
According to the news release, Vermont Afterschool is the coordinating organization of Fund IRL Vermont, part of the national Fund IRL coalition working “to ensure that social media settlement dollars are invested in the real-world programs and supports young people need to connect, belong, and thrive.”
Ultimately, the coalition says its aim is “to combine less screen time for youth with more opportunities to be active, engaged, connected, and heard in real life through afterschool, summer learning, mentoring, outdoor, arts, sports, mental health, and other ‘third space’ programs — programs that too many Vermont families still can’t access because of cost, transportation, and limited availability.”
Talk to any Vermont family with school-age children. They will not disagree with this need. Too much hard-earned income is being spent on providing adequate care for children. It can happen in simple but powerful ways, like mentoring, extracurricular events, teen or youth centers, and more.
“Mentoring relationships are one of the most powerful protective factors we have for young people,” said Chad Butt, executive director of MENTOR Vermont. “This settlement gives Vermont a rare chance to expand access to caring adults and real connection at a scale we haven’t seen before. It’s an opportunity to define what meaningful investment in youth well-being looks like.”
Simone Rueschemeyer, executive director of Vermont Care Partners, noted that this is truly an opportunity to invest in the future of the state.
“This is an opportunity to make a lasting investment in the mental health and well-being of Vermont’s children and youth at the heart of the settlement,” she said. “These funds should strengthen the continuum of supports available to children and youth, including mental health services, upstream approaches, and the community-based programs and relationships that help young people feel connected, valued, and cared for.”
We can all be optimistic that lawmakers will see the value, but they answer to constituents, who have other priorities that also factor into whether they continue to live here. Politics never makes for easy decisions. But we hope that the Legislature will think hard about where the settlement money goes before it just sends the transfer order to the General Fund.
How great would it be to begin resolving a significant problem without using taxpayer dollars?
