Our Response to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Proposed FY26 Budget

Last month, Governor JB Pritzker issued his Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) budget proposal, which outlines considerable funding increases for the state’s child care system, but maintains level funding for its remaining early childhood programs.

While we are pleased with the Governor’s request to improve funding for child care assistance, a flat budget for Early Intervention, evidence-based home visiting programs and the Early Childhood Block Grant will limit the state’s ability to support the early childhood workforce and ultimately, to serve more young children through strengthened programs and services.

Read our full statement on the Governor's FY26 budget proposal.

Our Spring 2025 Legislative Priorities

We are pleased to share our annual Illinois Legislative Agenda, a snapshot of the budget requests and legislative priorities for which Start Early will be advocating during the spring 2025 legislative session in the state. With the new legislative session underway, our team is focused on moving forward funding requests and legislation that will support families and providers across our early childhood system.

Our goals for the year include:

Increasing funding for the Early Intervention (EI) program, maternal and child home visiting programs, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) and the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE)
Supporting legislation to improve the licensing process for child care providers
Supporting legislation to create an advisory committee on preschool special education
Supporting legislation to creating the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

Early Childhood Advocacy Day 2025

On March 4, Start Early along with our partners at Child Care For All, COFI, Evanston Early Childhood Council, Illinois Action for Children, Raising Illinois, SEIU, and We, the Village brought over 300 advocates down to Springfield to advocate for Illinois’ youngest learners. Advocates shared their perspectives with legislators on the impact that increased funding for the Early Childhood Block Grant, ECACE, child care, home visiting and Early Intervention would have on Illinois families and providers.

The spring legislative session will continue through May 31, and we aren’t slowing down our advocacy efforts!

Learn more about how you can take action for Illinois' youngest learners.

Advocates Urge ILGA to Increase Early Intervention Funding by $60 Million in the Final FY26 State Budget

Despite the devastating delays thousands of families across Illinois are experiencing when trying to access the Early Intervention (EI) services they are legally entitled to receive, Governor JB Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal recommends a small rate increase for providers at a cost of $10 million supported by Medicaid funds. While we applaud IDHS and HFS for ensuring we are maximizing Medicaid funds, the funding increase is not nearly enough to address the historically high service delays and long waitlists that are directly tied to the workforce shortage.

The proposal to flat fund EI is concerning and a departure from the multi-year investments announced in 2023 as part of the administration’s Smart Start Illinois initiative. Since then, a cost model study commissioned by IDHS-DEC found that the state needs to raise current spending by an additional $168 million annually to adequately compensate the workforce and stabilize the program. These findings underscore a massive funding gap in pay for the workforce and a need for immense investment.

Leveraging A Continuum of Prenatal-to-Three Supports to Address Infant Mortality

The Illinois Department of Public Health’s 2024 Illinois Infant Mortality Data Report sheds additional light on the critical public health challenges impacting Illinois families and emphasizes the need for a strategic policy response. As Illinois continues to work to enhance infant health statewide, a comprehensive prenatal-to-three system of support for families must be a critical piece of the solution.

Addressing infant mortality demands a holistic, coordinated policy transformation. No program or family-support service is a silver bullet, but we know the state can build on existing investments and innovations to help address infant mortality.

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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