Resources, Materials and Reports

• Governor Pritzker Announces Proposal to Create Unified Early Childhood State Agency

• Executive Order 2023-09

• Governor Pritzker Announces Illinois' Early Childhood Education and Care Transition Advisory Committee Members

In February 2024, SB0001/HB5451 were filed to establish the Department of Early Childhood – legislation that will enable a better coordinated system of birth-to-five services and allow the state to reduce complexity and advance equity for families with young children.

• The Department of Early Childhood Act

• Governor's Early Childhood Funding Commission

Learning Series Session 1: ChildTrends' Equity Data Framework

When: February 23, 2024, 2-3pm

Who: ChildTrends, the leading research organization in the U.S. focused solely on improving the lives of children and youth organizers of the national Early Childhood Data Collaborative.

Topic: ChildTrends' new data framework aimed at helping leaders better understand the experiences of children, families, or workforce members within their systems to begin identifying potential inequities and examine root causes that could be addressed.  

Learning Series Session 2: South Carolina's First Steps Parent Portal

When: March 8, 2024, 9-10am

Who: South Carolina's First Steps, the state's comprehensive early childhood initiative focused on getting children ready for school and life success.

Topic: South Carolina's First Steps has launched First Five SC, a responsive one-stop portal for families to learn about public programs and services to help with their child's growth and development and use a common elibility screener across 40 different programs/services. 

Learning Series Session 3: Using Analytics for More Equitable EC Policy

When: April 19, 2024, 1-3pm

Who: Representatives from MA, GA, WA and Third Sector Intelligence

Topic: Panel discussion of other states using innovative analytics to inform policy decisions and allocate resources more equitably across their state.

• TAC Meetings