Alignment. Quality. Access.
OECD leads the state's initiatives to create an integrated system of quality, early learning and development programs to help give all Illinois children a strong educational foundation before they begin kindergarten.
Learn more.
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January 17| Family Engagement
Implementation Subcommittee Meeting
See
calendar
for more events and details.
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Dear Early Childhood Community,
Happy New Year! I am delighted to announce that the
GOECD office continues to grow. Please join me in welcoming Jamilah R. Jor'dan, PhD, as our Deputy Director.
As we enter 2018, we celebrate the hard work of state agencies, community partners, and local programs. This month's "Early Learning Insights" includes many relevant resources that can be found throughout the state. This issue also includes the
Governor's Cabinet on Children and Youth's annual report. The 2017 report provides an overview of the work completed by the Early Childhood Workforce Development project and the Childhood Lead Burden project.
Best regards,
Cynthia L. Tate, Ph.D.
Executive Director, OECD
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 GOECD Welcomes New Deputy Director
Jamilah R. Jor'dan, PhD joins the staff as Deputy Director of the Illinois Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development. Dr. Jor'dan has over 30 years of experience in the field of early care and education and has served in various leadership and service positions. She has served as the accreditation project director and interim executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Association for the Education of Young Children (Chicago Metro AEYC). Dr. Jor'dan was president of the Partnership for Quality Child Care, a $16 million dollar public private partnership that supported a city-wide accreditation facilitation initiative in Chicago. Chicago achieved national recognition for the largest number of early childhood programs serving children and families in Chicago's lower income communities that attained accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Dr. Jor'dan is past vice-president of the governing board of NAEYC. She has served as a consultant for Strengthening Families Illinois through the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. She co-chairs the Family Specialist Credential Committee as part of Gateways to Opportunity, Illinois Professional Development System that acknowledges contributions of professionals who provide responsive relationship-based services to families.
Prior to this position, Dr. Jor'dan served as the interim dean of the College of Education and tenured associate professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Bilingual Education at Chicago State University. She also worked in Ghana on the Teaching and Learning Materials Project funded by USAID. Dr. Jor'dan is on leave from the university. She attained her doctorate at Loyola University Chicago and her master's degree from Erikson Institute. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading, music, theatre, cycling, classic car shows, community festivals and dancing.
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Children's Cabinet Annual Report for 2017
The Governor's Cabinet on Children and Youth submitted its annual report at the end of 2017 to the Governor and the General Assembly. This report included an overview of the work completed by the Early Childhood Workforce Development project, led by GOECD, as well as the Reducing Childhood Lead Burden project, which GOECD supports. The accomplishments of the Early Childhood Workforce Development project listed in the report are the result of cross-agency and cross-sector collaboration with the goal of creating a more cohesive, supported early childhood workforce, much of which was supported by
the Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge grant. The current
Children's Cabinet projects will enter a phase of continuity
and
sustainability in 2018, and new projects will be chosen by the Cabinet
at their March meeting.
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Illinois Launches 24/7 Opiod Helpline
Last month the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (IDHS/DASA)
launched an all-hours helpline to provide assistance
to individuals experiencing opioid use disorders; as well as family members and anyone else impacted by the disease. The Helpline is confidential and free. Helpline specialists are trained in evidence-based approaches to help connect callers with treatment services and recovery support services.
Establishing the Helpline was one of several key programs highlighted in Executive Order 17-05, which created the Opioid Task Force and set a goal of reducing opioid overdose deaths in Illinois by one-third within the next three years. Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) data show that in 2016, opioid overdoses killed 1,946 people in Illinois - more than one and a half times the number of homicides and nearly twice the number of fatal motor vehicle accidents. In addition, data from the Illinois Department of Human Services estimates that approximately 248,000 Illinois residents need, but do not receive treatment for illicit drug use. Concerned that stigma is preventing individuals from coming forward and asking for help, IDHS/DASA ensured that funds were included in the Opioid State Targeted Response grant to establish the Helpline.
The goals of the helpline are to:
- Provide individuals and families with information and timely access to opioid use disorder (OUD) behavioral health treatment, rehabilitation and recovery support services.
- Provide individuals and families with information and referral to a comprehensive range of OUD services and resources available to meet their needs.
- Assist callers with eligibility and insurance enrollment resources.
- Offer outreach and engagement to assist in connecting callers to care, when possible.
- Provide OUD behavioral health crisis intervention services.
To reach the Helpline, call 1-833-2FINDHELP (1-833-234-6343)
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CDC Launched New Milestone Tracker App
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a new
app for parents and caregivers looking to follow the first five years of their child's growth and development. The Milestone Tracker app, available for free on Android and iOS devices, offers a checklist of the important milestones parents should look out for. The app stores any milestones in a personalized summary that can be easily shared with a health care provider, and includes information from the CDC on when it is best to do so when development is a concern. Alongside the checklist come illustrated photos, videos, tips, and activity suggestions for parents to identify and encourage developments. The app supports entries for multiple children, and includes scheduling and reminder tools for children's doctor appointments and developmental screenings.
The Milestone
Tracker app adds
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Illinois Awarded Supplemental PDG Funds
The Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development and the Illinois State Board of Education collaboratively applied for Preschool Development Grant Supplemental Funding. The U.S Department of Education and Health and Human Services approved our proposal and granted Illinois supplemental funds.The supplemental funding will be used to enhance preschool improvements to further ensure high-quality PDG-Expansion, strengthen partnerships with sub-grantees, and promote coordination and communication among community partners. This will be achieved through the following initiatives:
- A demonstration project will be implemented providing racial equity training to center-based childcare leadership staff, adapting existing resources on racial equity in early childhood settings to reflect the responsibilities of program administrators
- A community systems dashboard website will be created to facilitate inter-regional collaboration and the sharing of information. The Dashboard will be a clearinghouse for best practices and resources pertaining to community collaborations and systems development.
- Build out structures that are needed for high-fidelity implementation of the Pyramid Model into PDG-Expansion programs. The intent of implementing the pyramid model into programs is to provide high quality professional development to staff and continue to expand the high quality of preschool programs; resulting in universal and targeted supports for children's positive behavior and social-emotional development
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Illinois' Invest in Kids Program Received $36 million of Pledged Contributions on the First Day
Illinois' new Invest in Kids scholarship program gives low- to middle-income students opportunities to attend non-public schools that best meet their educational goals. T
he state began accepting applications on Janurary 2 and
attracted more than $36 million in pledged contributions within the first 24 hours.
"When we unleash the power of private-sector investment incentives like Invest in Kids, great things are possible," Rauner said. "Within its first hour of going live, more than one-third of all Invest in Kids contributions have been allocated for the 2018 tax year. This outpouring of generosity is truly a testament to the many Illinoisans who believe in offering students and their families a choice in their education."
Individuals and businesses must apply to the Illinois Department of Revenue to obtain Contribution Authorization Certificates that permit them to make authorized contributions to one of the approved scholarship granting organizations. Those organizations, in turn, provide scholarships for eligible Illinois students to attend qualified non-public schools in Illinois
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Click HERE for more information on the Invest in Kids income tax credits, including bulletins, FAQs and a list of approved scholarship granting organizations.
A
YouTube video
is available to assist taxpayers with MyTax Illinois registration. Questions should be emailed to:
[email protected]
.
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Save the Date: Early Learning Council Executive Committee Meeting
There will be an ELC Executive Committee Meeting on February 5th from 1:00 - 4:00 PM. This meeting will take place in the Illinois State Board of Education Video Teleconference Rooms in both Chicago and Springfield. There will also be a teleconference line available for those who are unable to attend in person.
- Springfield:100 N. First Street
- Chicago:
100 W. Randolph Street, 14th Floor
- Teleconference Line: (888) 494-4032
Access Code: 6113045703
Please send your RSVP to Erin Lidell at [email protected] by February 1. Be sure to indicate whether you will be attending in Springfield, Chicago, or over the phone. An agenda and meeting materials will be sent out closer to the meeting.
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Early Learning Council Meeting Calendar
 The committees and subcommittees of the Early Learning Council meet several times a year to work towards each of their goals and priorities. You can find a calendar of all Early Learning Council meetings on the OECD website on the
ELC Meeting Calendar, which lists the date, time, location, and links to any meeting materials. Some upcoming meetings are:
January 17, 2018 10:00am-12:00pm
January 24, 2018 10:00am-12:00pm
January 31, 2018 10:00am-12:00pm
February 1, 2018 10:00am-12:00pm
February 8, 2018 10:30am-12:30pm
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Early Childhood Expulsion Legislation in the Press
IL Public Act 100-0105, the legislation prohibiting expulsions due to challenging behaviors of children birth to five in licensed child care and early childhood programs receiving funds from the Illinois State Board of Education, has consistently been listed as one of the top laws to watch in 2018:
GOECD is currently working with the state agencies as they write rules for implementation of the law. Check out the
webinar recording
, hosted by Illinois Action for Children and the Ounce of Prevention Fund, to learn more about what the law means for providers, as well as resources available to support both children and providers.
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Public Perceptions of Infant Brain Development
To better understand awareness of and attitudes toward emotional development in young children and infants, ZERO TO THREE and the
Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation commissioned a national survey of
registered voters [including parents of children ages 0-5, first time parents, millennials, and non-metro
voters] to explore awareness of the topic, parents' attitudes and behaviors, and perspectives on policy ideas to support the healthy development of infants and toddlers.
The report
identified the messages and policies that best resonate with voters, demonstrating opportunities to better support early childhood development.
Key Findings
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Nine in 10 voters believe brain development in infants and toddlers is an important topic, and most (85%) believe experiences in the first three years of a child's life can lead to long-term impacts later in life. However, about half say they know little or nothing about the topic.
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Most say that parents should have the resources to help them support their child's healthy brain development, and 73 percent agree that pediatricians should play a major role in helping parents when it comes to the emotional development of their child.
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Among policies tested, all received majority support. However, the top policy for voters across party ID is to "expand access to affordable, quality child care for working families." Additional supportive policies include more access to child development specialists, more flexible paid leave options for parents, and expanding Early Head Start.
Read the full report
HERE
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2017 Mastering KIDS Summit
On Dec.14, 2017, over 250 educators from across Illinois, including
just shy of 100 kindergarten teachers, gathered in Rosemont for the Mastering KIDS Summit. Using KIDS, the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey, kindergarten teachers record what their students know and can do across several developmental domains. They are then able to harness this information to meet the needs of individual students. After a successful multi-year pilot, the tool was rolled out statewide in fall 2017. As all districts implement the same tool, KIDS data will also deepen the state's understanding of where children have, and do not have, access to high-quality early learning opportunities.
As with any large-scale policy change, there is a learning curve involved in putting a new tool like KIDS into practice. Recognizing this, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) created the Summit as an opportunity for teachers, school and district administrators, KIDS
coaches, and advocates to share experiences and best practices for using the tool. The Steans Family Foundation and McCormick Foundation, which sponsored the event, have worked as partners with ISBE for several years to bring the vision of a statewide
tool for understanding children's strengths and needs at kindergarten entry to fruition in the form of KIDS.
The day opened with a keynote on
closing equity gaps by Harvard economist Dr. Ronald Ferguson, who provided a powerful message about the importance of the early years. "From cradle to career," he said, "there is no 'throw-away' developmental period". A panel discussion followed, which brought together two kindergarten teachers and a principal from Rock Falls, a Superintendent from West Chicago, and Dr. Libia Gil, the chief education officer at ISBE, to share insights about using the KIDS tool to ensure that children are ready for school, and that schools are prepared to meet the diverse needs of all children. Later, the luncheon keynote addressed how the tool can also be used to support the state's growing population of
dual language learners. Throughout the event, attendees had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with KIDS coaches to ask specific questions, and could also choose from a suite of
workshops on interpreting and using KIDS data to improve practice.
Ultimately, the Summit served as a forum for educators to learn how early-implementing districts have used KIDS to help encourage developmentally appropriate practices by embracing play-based learning, as well as how several districts, including U-46 in Elgin, are using KIDS data to actively engage with parents and families. Dr. Charles Johns, the superintendent of West Chicago School District #33, shared that "the information parents are getting as to development of their children is superior to what they've gotten in the past," as a result of KIDS. The event also provided a unique opportunity for practitioners in the field to provide feedback to ISBE about the first full-scale implementation of the new tool, which will inform continuous improvement towards the goal that every Illinois child is ready for
kindergarten.
Click here for more information and KIDS-related resources |
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Rapid Response Training: Building Resilience of Refugee/Immigrant Children and Families
Lurie Children's
Center for Childhood Resilience
is hosting a free training entitled, Rapid Response Training: Building Resilience of Refugee/Immigrant Children and Families.
This 2-hour training is designed to help community providers/members, whom work with refugee/immigrant children and families, to recognize and respond to signs and symptoms of distress and crisis for populations impacted by the current sociopolitical environment
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Attendees will learn
what to say and do to instill hope, decrease distress, and increase a sense of control over their futures and environments.The training wi
ll include how to identify signs of distress and suicidality and will discuss how to link youth to mental health services if needed. The Center for Childhood Resilience is offering this training in both January and February and registration is required:
Albany Park Branch Chicago Public Library
3401 West Foster Avenue
January 26th, 2018
10:00 AM-12:00 PM
Brighton Park Branch Chicago Public Library
4314 South Archer Avenue
February 23rd, 2018
9:45 - 11:45 AM
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"I Dreamed a World": Developing Anti-Bias Teaching Practices to Support School Readiness
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago invites you to the third event in their l
earning and discussion series "I Dreamed a World." This no-cost series
highlights anti-bias education practices at the Y and across the field, a
focus of the Y's Early Learning Quality Initiative.
The YMCA Center, Learning Institute
1030 W. Van Buren Street, Chicago, IL 60607
Thursday, February 22, 2018
8:45 - 11:45 a.m.
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Serving Families Together: Cross-Training for Home Visitors, Child Welfare Staff, and Early Intervention Providers in Central Illinois
Join us for a webinar that
will preview a series of cross-training sessions aimed at supporting home visitors, child welfare staff, and Early Intervention providers in working together to serve infants, toddlers, and their families who are impacted by maltreatment. Presenters will share background information about the cross-training initiative, the goals and objectives of the trainings, information about training dates, locations, and registration processes, as well as answer questions from webinar participants.
The cross-training initiative is being organized by the Erikson-DCFS Early Childhood Project, The IDHS Bureau of Early Intervention, the Illinois Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development MIECHV Program, and the Ounce of Prevention Fund, along with other state and local program leaders in Central Illinois. If you can't make the webinar, please feel free to send a representative to learn more about this upcoming initiative. We hope you'll join us to learn more about how to get involved!
January 25, 2018 at 12 pm
Register for the webinar HERE
If you have any questions regarding the webinar or the cross-training series, please contact Carie Bires at
[email protected]
or 312-291-2160
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The webinar was a partnership between early childhood and immigrant advocate organizations- the Ounce of Prevention Fund, Latino Policy Forum, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and Illinois Action for Children. Materials
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Opening Minds Early Childhood Education Conference
Meet the top people in the field of early care and education from all industries: education, administration, health & wellness, medicine, nursing, justice, social service, policy, government, parks & recreation, tech, business, library science, and more. Hear the latest developments in research. Get proven ideas to return to your job with renewed enthusiasm and the practical edge you need to create results.
The Opening Minds Early Education Conference will take place at:
Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park
200 N Columbus Dr, Chicago, IL 60601
Wednesday February 7, 2018 through
Saturday February 10th, 2018.
Opening Minds is the early childhood education conferences 2018 gathering place for all industries serving young children and families. Credit Hours are available for educators as well as allied professionals.
Opening Minds is a GATEWAYS Registry Verified Conference. Detailed information about sessions and presenters can be found
here
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