Chicago Stakeholders Call on the City to Strengthen Early Childhood Investments in 2026

In May of this year, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a $7M investment of the City’s Corporate Fund dollars to be distributed to 3,000 early care and education workers across Chicago, recognizing the need for increased compensation for this essential workforce. This investment resulted directly from the hard work of early care and education workers and advocates during last year’s budget engagement process and this year they are back to say the work is far from over. More investment is needed in 2026 to ensure children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn—and to support the professionals who care for and educate them in the years before school entry.

To address these challenges, advocates are calling for targeted increases in the City’s 2026 budget. Read the full list of Chicago early childhood budget priorities and contact your alderman now to ask them to support these requests.

Share Your Thoughts With IDEC!

The new Department of Early Childhood would like to invite Illinois’ early childhood workforce members to participate in an upcoming IDEC Workforce Listening Sessions to discuss support, training and professional development, compensation, work environments, and well-being for Illinois’ early childhood education and care workforce.

In these sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to share successes, challenges, and opportunities, as well as provide input on priorities related to the early childhood workforce. This feedback will be used to inform the state’s work and opportunities as the early childhood programs and services transition from DCFS, IDHS, and ISBE to IDEC.

IDEC is particularly looking for input from the frontline early childhood workforce (i.e. teachers, assistant teachers, home visitors, therapists, etc.), though anyone is welcome to join.

Join a listening session:

Content at all sessions will be the same.

Stay tuned for a new series!

Redesigning Child Care Licensing

Next July, the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) will administer most of the state’s programs and services for children ages 0-5. To prepare, IDEC has established revamping the state’s child care licensing process as a top priority to better meet the needs of children, families, and providers.

Over the next few months, we’ll take a deep dive into IDEC’s recommendations to redesign child care licensing. Through a series of blog posts beginning in late September, we’ll highlight various licensing pain points (e.g. background checks) and discuss IDEC’s plan to alleviate concerns from educators and families.

Perspectives from Start Early's National Home Visiting Summit

Ensuring parents and providers have access to and are heard by those making laws and decisions is crucial and an integral part of the way Illinois Policy Team does our advocacy and policy work. Start Early’s National Home Visiting Summit offers an opportunity to bring together early childhood leaders from across the country to advance the home visiting field.

It is also a chance to participate in advocacy through Hill Visits and meeting with the Congressional delegation to talk about the importance and impact of home visiting and funding for these programs. During this year’s summit, Start Early Illinois helped coordinate a group of advocates, including leaders in the field, program directors, home visitors, professional development providers, and families to meet with our state’s delegation while in Washington, D.C.

We’re delighted to share the perspectives of provider Niah Hamilton and parent Brittany Porter on participating in the Summit and the Capitol Hill visits.

Thank you Niah and Brittany for your advocacy and for sharing your experiences with us!

New blog!

Growing Wages: The Impact of Salary Floors on Illinois Home Visitors

The Illinois home visiting workforce plays a critical role in supporting young children and families, ensuring they receive the care, guidance and resources they need for a strong start in life. Recognizing the importance of recruiting and retaining a highly qualified workforce, and at the request of numerous advocates and programs over many years, the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Early Childhood (IDHS-DEC) released salary floors for their home visiting workforce in FY23, to be required starting in FY25. The newly released FY25 Illinois Home Visiting Compensation Report demonstrates the significant progress made—but also highlights the continued need for investment as IDHS-DEC and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) home visiting programs transition to the newly created Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) in FY26.

By advocating for sustained and increased funding, we can continue to strengthen the home visiting workforce—ensuring every child and family receives the support they deserve. Now is the time to build on this progress and secure a future where early childhood professionals are valued, supported and fairly compensated.

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

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