Pritzker Administration Announces New Illinois Early Childhood State Agency

Earlier this month, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced the creation of a new, unified state agency focused on early childhood. This major undertaking, which will take place over several years, aims to simplify and streamline how families access critical early learning and care services.

Start Early is excited to offer its longstanding experiences directly providing early childhood services and informing policy in Illinois as state leaders embark on this historic transformation of the governance and design of our early learning and care system.

New Report Offers Pathways for Strengthening Home Visiting Systems

Illinois Home Visiting Caregiver & Provider Feedback Project

Enrollment and retention data have long suggested the home visiting field could do more to meet the needs and desires of families, and workforce data point to challenges finding and sustaining a highly-qualified workforce.

Start Early’s Illinois Home Visiting Caregiver and Provider Feedback Project used an organic, mixed-methods approach to understand what families and providers see as needed improvements to the home visiting system, and from this input, created recommendations for programs, model developers, researchers, systems leaders and policy makers.

We encourage members of the home visiting field – including funders, model developers, researchers, program leaders, home visitors and family participants – to read this report and identify which levers for change that they can act upon to strengthen and improve how the home visiting system supports caregivers and providers.

Event Recording Now Available!

Raising Our Voices: Improving Access in 2024 & Beyond

On November 14th, Raising Illinois held their fall event, Raising Our Voices: Improving Access in 2024 & Beyond. This event, which was viewed by 200+ coalition members live and in local watch parties, was a discussion that blended parent, provider and policy expert voices around the issues Illinois families are experiencing when accessing key services.

We heard impactful stories from Raising Illinois Family Leaders Leann Swainn and Raeyonda Sparks around their experiences with perinatal health services & infant/toddler care, doula Chastity Mays and child care center Director Azar Khounani shared their experiences & struggles as providers, and our state partners Jean Davis & Christi Chadwick shined a light on what Illinois is working on to alleviate these issues. In case you missed it, we invite you to watch the recording!

Updates on ISBE's FY25 ECBG RFP Process

The fiscal year 2025 Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released electronically in the ISBE Web Application Security system (IWAS). In order to access the IWAS system, eligible applicants must submit an FY 2025 Notice of Intent to Apply.

The intent to apply deadline is December 30, 2023. Entities must complete an intent to apply form in which they will select which of the three ECBG grants they intend to apply for before they can make an RFP submission. For more information, visit www.isbe.net/ecbg.

Questions may be directed to the Early Childhood Development Department at 217-524-4835 or [email protected].

Start Early In The News

Start Early has been featured in several publications this fall, sharing expertise and shining a light on our work! Check out the following stories to learn more:

America Already Knows How To Address Poverty, Time
- Start Early's own Michelle Bezark, Research & Evaluation, successfully submitted this opinion piece to TIME Magazine's "Made in History" feature section, where she dives into the history of Head Start and calls on leaders to consider this history as key federal decisions are being made on child care investments.
Toddlers With Developmental Delays Are Missing Out On Help They Need. It Can Hurt Them Long Term, Associated Press
- This article features a comprehensive look at the barriers parents are facing nationwide in getting their young children the help they need in Early Intervention services.
Chicago Child Care Providers Appeal For Local Funding As Federal Aid Dries Up, Chalkbeat Chicago
- Federal emergency funding that was designated for child care programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic expired at the end of September, leaving providers across the country again questioning how they will be able to keep their doors open.

Start Early advances quality early learning for families with children, before birth through their earliest years, to close the opportunity gap.

33 West Monroe Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60603 • 312.922.3863

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