Greetings Early Childhood Community,
I trust everyone is having a safe and healthy start to the new year. We have set our resolutions and intentions for the year that include both personal and professional goals. As part of the process I am requesting that each of us who serve in child/family serving roles commit to the goal of addressing equity within our early care and education system. I want us to continue to do the work and not be afraid to convene and engage in courageous conversations related to the inequities that impact children and families.
I want to highlight a recent publication by the Children's Equity Project entitled, Start With Equity--14 Priorities to Dismantle Systemic Racism in Early Care and Education. We are reminded in the report that children’s outcomes are predicted by their demographic characteristics, the color of their skin, their family’s income bracket, and their home language. These inequities begin before birth and follow children into the early care and education system, one of the first systems with which they interact. The report outlines 14 critical priorities to advance equity in the early care and education system. The recommendations serve as a roadmap. It is our time to address inequities related to access, experiences, and outcomes for children especially Black, Indigenous, LatinX, and others of color. Ask yourself, if not me then who? The GOECD team has discussed the report which we will continue along with other diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. I encourage you to read the report and consider how to elevate these strategies within your organizations and across Illinois' early childhood system.
In closing this message, on behalf of the GOECD team I extend our congratulations to Bethany Patten on her new role as Associate Director of the Office of Early Childhood at the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). Bethany previously served as GOECD’s Workforce Policy Director. In addition, you will note the announcement included in this newsletter regarding the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program housed in GOECD and led by Lesley Schwartz, Joanna Su and Michelle Esquivel and their move to DHS effective February 1, 2021. To all, we wish them the best and look forward to continuing our shared work.
Be well.
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Jamilah R. Jor'dan, PhD
Executive Director
Illinois Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD)
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Illinois Home Visiting Program Administration Changes |
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Administration of the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program is moving from the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD) to the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) effective February 1, 2021, a key step in efforts to consolidate early childhood programs under one agency. "We are excited to have the MIECHV program and team join IDHS, building on the strong partnership we have had with them over the past decade," said IDHS Secretary Grace Hou.
Program leaders—with support from the State’s Home Visiting Task Force and other stakeholders—note that this is as an opportunity to strengthen supports for the IDHS home visiting program while leveraging the impact of MIECHV innovative pilot projects and funding. Further, the consolidation will allow the State to increase alignment of data systems, funding mechanisms, program monitoring, and professional development, and to provide additional workforce supports.
“This transition is the first effort to build an interagency culture as part of the State’s vision to move towards an integrated early childhood system,” stated Theresa Hawley, PhD, First Assistant Deputy Governor for Education, Office of the Governor. “Integrating these programs is a step toward overall coordination of the State’s home visiting system.”
Additional information can be obtained by contacting the home visiting team at [email protected].
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Welcome to the ELC Family Advisory Committee Parent Leaders |
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As of November 2020, The Family Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Illinois Early Learning Council (ELC) has been established and has begun its work! The FAC is a group of diverse parents from throughout the State who will add parent voice, perspective, and experience to the early childhood system and policy landscape through participation in the ELC and its committees.
Around four years ago, the ELC began the process of creating an avenue for parents and families to have intentional input and participation within the ELC and Illinois' early childhood education and care systems. The ELC created the Family Engagement and Implementation Subcommittee (FEIS), which was comprised of parents, parent advocates, and community and agency representatives. The charge of the FEIS was to research and propose the best way to create the needed parent voice on the ELC; their recommendation, which was approved by the ELC Executive Committee, was to create a standing Family Advisory Committee (FAC) within the Council.
In the Fall of 2020, over 100 applications were received from parents throughout the State who were interested in being part of the FAC. The FAC parent leaders who were selected are listed below and represent diverse ethnicities, family backgrounds, experiences, early childhood education interests, and geographical regions throughout Illinois.
We would like to welcome the FAC parent leaders to the ELC and its committees. Thank you, FAC Parent leaders, for agreeing to be part of the Council. We look forward to your expertise, participation, and collaboration as we all work toward the common goal of coordinated, accessible, high-quality early childhood experiences for all Illinois families.
This project was made possible by grant number 90TP0057. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
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FAC Parent Leaders by Region |
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REGION #1
(Cook)
Kristen Medrano
Cheryse Singleton-Nobles
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REGION #1
(Cook-Suburbs)
Whitney Brooks
Cori Mohr
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REGION #2
(DuPage, Lake, Kane, Will, McHenry, Grundy, Kendall, Kankakee counties)
Bhairvi Patel
David Quiroz
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REGION #3
(Dekalb, Lee, Ogle, Carroll, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, Whiteside, Jo Daviess, Mercer counties)
Samantha McDavid
Courtney Hill
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REGION #4
(Rock Island, Henry, LaSalle, Logan, Cass, Adams, Brown, Peoria, McDonough, Fulton, Bureau, Putnam, Stark, Marshall, Woodford, Knox, Mercer, Warren, Henderson, Hancock, Schuyler, Mason, Mernard, Tazewell counties)
Stacee Leatherman
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REGION #5
(Pike, Scott, Morgan, Sangamon, Christian, Montgomery, Macoupin, Greene, Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Bond, Clinton, Washington, St. Clair, Monroe, Randolph, East Side counties)
Joan Van
LeAnn Swain
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REGION #6
(Fayette, Effingham, Jasper, Crawford, Lawrence, Richland, Clay, Marion, Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, Egyptian, Hamilton, Franklin-Williamson, Perry, Jackson, Southern Seven counties)
Stephanie Brown
Kelly Calloway
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REGION #7
(Livingston, Ford, Iroquois, McLean, Champaign-Urbana, Vermillion, DeWitt-Piatt, Macon, Moultrie, Coles, Edgar, Clark, Cumberland, Shelby, Douglas counties)
Aubrey Stapleton
LaKeesha Smith
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The following former FEIS members will support the FAC parent leaders as mentors:
• Yolanda Williams
• Donna Carpenter
• Liliana Olayo
• Lannon Broughton
• Elizabeth Hamilton Campos
• Maralda Davis
• Letti Hicks
• Dexter Leggins
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ExceleRate Illinois Tests "Funding First" Model to Support Quality Improvement |
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Thirty-six child care centers in Illinois’ rural counties have committed to testing new Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) practices as part of a planned revision in ExceleRate Illinois standards. The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) is supporting the centers through a new method of quality improvement funding. All licensed child care centers in Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Group 2 counties were invited to participate if at least 40% of their children participate in CCAP.
The centers are testing three innovations: (1) IDHS contracts pay up-front for the salary and staffing pattern enhancements needed to meet pilot ExceleRate standards. Funding is allocated per classroom, not per child. (2) Programs implement the pilot standards, including regular team meetings and Plan-Do-Review cycles for CQI. (3) Program assessment instruments, including the Environment Rating Scales (ERS), are used at the beginning of the process to help guide improvement planning. Results are never made public, and the scores are not used in determining a rating or Circle of Quality. Assessors and leadership advisors from the McCormick Center are supporting the centers.
The pilot is sponsored by the Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD) and IDHS. It is supported by federal Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) and state child care funds.
For more information on the pilot program, click here.
This project was made possible by grant number 90TP0057. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
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Home Visiting Collaborative Participants Selected for PDG B-5 IRIS Coordinated Intake Project |
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Illinois envisions a future in which there are coordinated points of entry throughout the State for home visiting as well as other early childhood care and education services. As a part of the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5), GOECD will be launching this year the Integrated Intake and Referral System (IRIS) for coordinated intake work in partnership with the following four home visiting collaboratives: Children’s Home & Aid's Child Care Resource & Referral Program in Madison and St. Clair counties, DuPage Home Visiting Network in DuPage county, Sangamon Success 0-3 Initiative in Sangamon county, and Sauk Valley STARS Early Childhood Education Coalition in Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside counties.
This project was made possible by grant number 90TP0057. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
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Click below to access COVID-19 Resources for: |
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Chat2Learn: ISBE Launches a New Parent Text Program for Preschool Families
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is partnering with the University of Chicago Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab to bring a new parent text program called Chat2Learn to preschool families at no cost.
Chat2Learn is based on research and promotes a habit of everyday learning that improves children’s school readiness. Read more in the press release from ISBE. The program delivers text messages to parents to prompt guided conversations about math, literacy, and social-emotional learning with their children at home.
For steps on how to sign up in English, click here.
For steps on how to sign up in Spanish, click here.
The Chat2Learn program starts every Sunday, so sign up today! The program has ongoing open enrollment, so families can continue to enroll throughout the first half of 2021. The program messages start the Sunday after families enroll and go through the end of June 2021. However, it is encouraged to sign up early in order to take advantage of the whole program! If there are any questions about Chat2Learn, contact Shannon Gedo at the BIP Lab at [email protected].
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Kids, Families, and COVID-19: A Kids Count Policy Report on Pandemic Pain Points and the Urgent Need to Respond
The COVID-19 pandemic has left millions of families struggling. After assessing data on food security, housing, health insurance status, and mental health concerns, the Casey Foundation has identified pain points for children and families that require immediate action.
Click here to read the full report. Learn more about federal and state responses to support families and children during the pandemic, and further recognize strategies for meeting the needs of children and families not only during the pandemic, but also after.
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Provider Cost of Quality Calculator
The Provider Cost of Quality Calculator is a free web-based tool by the National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance (ECQA Center) that calculates the cost of care based on site-level provider data. It may be used to estimate the costs of COVID-19 supplies and additional staff time; test differential subsidy rates, grants, and other financial supports; and gauge the impact of the supports on different types of early childhood education and care programs, including family child care.
This short brief explains how the Provider Cost of Quality Calculator can help states, territories, and Tribes understand the costs of COVID-19 mitigation practices in early care and education settings and design financial supports that help them stay open (or reopen) to serve children and their families.
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Latino and Black families are Twice as Likely to Face Three or More Hardships During COVID-19
New research from Child Trends and the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families—based on analysis of newly released Census Household Pulse Survey data—finds that 29% of Latino and 31% of Black families with children are facing three or more economic and health-related hardships during the pandemic. This means that Latino and Black families with children are experiencing three or more hardships at nearly twice the rate of their White and Asian counterparts (13% and 16%, respectively).
The analysis also details that 7% of Latino and 7% of Black households with children experienced five or more of these hardships, compared to 2% of Asian and 3% of White child households. The research reinforces that without resources and government support, the accumulation of hardship-related stressors threatens to overwhelm many families’ psychological and economic resources.
Read further about the racial disparities in the experiences of hardships due to COVID-19 highlighted in the new research report by clicking here.
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Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs in Foster Care
In a recently released brief, Child Trends examines the prevalence of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) in the foster care system. CYSHCN have—or are at increased risk for—chronic physical, developmental, or behavioral/emotional conditions. The brief provides an overview of the literature on CYSHCN and their experiences in the foster care system, a detailed explanation of the methodology used for the current brief, an explanation of findings, and a brief discussion of practice and policy implications.
The findings detail children and youth’s reasons for entering foster care, their experiences while in care, and their reasons for leaving care vary depending on if they have a special health care need.
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Learn the Signs. Act Early. (LTSAE)
Early identification of developmental delays, including Autism, is a 4-step process:
1. Parent-engaged developmental monitoring
2. General developmental and autism screening
3. Referral to intervention services
4. Receipt of early intervention services for children birth to age five
Strengthening and promoting early identification gets more children to step #4. To that end, it is important to understand the difference between developmental monitoring and developmental screening.
Developmental monitoring is an ongoing process in which families/caregivers, early childhood education and care professionals, and health care providers observe how a child grows and changes over time. It is observing and noting specific ways a child plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves every day, in an ongoing way. Developmental monitoring often involves tracking a child's development using a checklist of developmental milestones.
Developmental screening is a more formal process that uses a validated screening tool at specific ages to determine if a child's development is on track or whether he/she/they need to be referred for further evaluation. Encouraging families to monitor their child’s development empowers them to talk to a health professional about their concerns.
For questions about Learn the Signs. Act Early. resources and how to promote them in your program, please email Illinois’ Act Early Ambassadors Cari Roestel
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New NAEYC Survey: Sacrificing to Stay Open, Child Care Providers Face a Bleak Future Without Relief
The essential child care sector has sacrificed and struggled to serve children and families since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAEYC’s) newest survey, completed between November 13–29, 2020, by more than 6,000 respondents working in child care centers and family child care homes, shows that the crisis facing child care is as consistent and devastating today as it was in March and in July of 2020. With 56% of child care centers saying they are losing money every day that they remain open, programs are confronting an unsustainable reality, even as they are taking desperate measures - putting supplies on credit cards, drawing down personal savings, and laying off staff - to remain viable for the children and families they serve. Yet, despite the steps they are taking to save themselves, the math on their bottom line does not work, and federal relief is needed to stabilize and support this essential sector.
Click here for the state data from the November NAEYC Survey.
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Maternal and Child Health |
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Hear Her. You Can Help Save Her Life.
Over 700 women die each year in this country from problems related to pregnancy or delivery complications. Every death is a tragedy, especially when we know that two thirds of pregnancy-related deaths could be prevented. As many as 50,000 women experience severe, unexpected health problems related to pregnancy that may have long-term health consequences.
Women know their own bodies better than anyone and can often tell when something does not feel right. The campaign seeks to encourage partners, friends, family, coworkers, and providers—anyone who supports pregnant and postpartum women—to really listen when she tells you something does not feel right. Acting quickly could help save her life.
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Healthy Choices, Healthy Futures
The prenatal period is the time when a baby develops in the womb. Prenatal care helps keep mothers and babies healthy. Find out more about the prenatal period including monitoring growth and movement, nutrition and health management, alcohol and substance use, pregnancy complications and loss, preparing for labor and delivery, and safety precautions while pregnant by visiting www.healthychoiceshealthyfutures.org.
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Illinois Infant Mortality Report Highlights Racial Inequities
Infant mortality, or the death of an infant before their first birthday, is a tragic event for families and communities. The Illinois Department of Public Health Office of Women’s Health and Family Services has issued an Illinois Infant Mortality Report covering data from 2000-2018. The leading causes of death for infants in 2018 were: prematurity or fetal malnutrition, birth defects, sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), and complications during pregnancy and delivery. The report includes county-level data tables and highlights racial inequities including the following:
- Infants born to Black women die at rates more than double that of infants born to White, Hispanic, and Asian women.
- The overall infant mortality rate decreased 22% from 2000 to 2018, but since 2008, the Black infant mortality rate has remained unchanged.
- While SUID rates among infants born to White and Latinx mothers have remained stable since 2000, the SUID rate among infants born to Black mothers increased by 38% since 2009.
- If babies of Black women had fetal and infant mortality rates that were the same as the babies of low-risk White women, 212 Black fetal and infant deaths would be prevented each year.
The report is an important resource for informing prevention efforts and supporting public health programs in improving infant health.
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