Share your experiences and opinions with Start Early regarding the Infant and Toddler Child Care Road Map Project funded through the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five and part of the Raising Illinois Prenatal to Three Agenda . This project will examine the current supply, demand, and impact of infant-toddler child care on family well-being and the economy and surface community-informed recommendations for meeting the demand for high-quality care that supports positive economic and child development for all Illinois infants, toddlers, and their families. We are currently recruiting participants for a series of six geographically representative focus groups that include Illinois center-based and family child care providers, as well as Child Care Resource & Referral agencies (CCR&Rs),  to surface important considerations and practical strategies for increasing the number of infant/toddler slots. This research would move beyond identifying the barriers to serving infants and toddlers in child care to understanding what it would take for providers to expand their services to more infants and toddlers.  Participants can sign up and take a brief screener about their type of child care setting and geographic region so that we know what focus group would be best for scheduling. We will also offer one focus group in Spanish.  We are asking for your help in distributing this opportunity.  Participants can include: Center-based child care providers Family child care providers Representatives from Child Care Resource & Referral agencies  Focus groups will last approximately one hour and will be held virtually and audiotaped. Participants will receive a $50 gift e-card to Amazon for participating. Focus group data will be used to inform an online survey on this same topic. The name and/or agency of participants will NOT be identified in the report that we will submit to the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development.  If you have questions, email Carie Bires.

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