Meet the Recipients / Conozca a los Beneficiarios
Birth to Five Illinois Funding Recipients
Scroll and click below to learn more about the Birth to Five Illinois Implementation and Planning funding recipients and the great work they are doing within their communities!
Click on the map to the right for a more detailed view of the location of our FY2023 and FY2024 Implementation and Planning recipients across the State.
Haga clic en el botón "Read More (Leer más)" para obtener más información sobre nuestros beneficiarios en inglés y español.
Altgeld-Riverdale Early Learning Coalition
DETAILS
$47,141
Engage 60 families.
Provide wraparound services.
Refer 45 children ages 0-5 to an early learning program with an identifiable need.
Conduct community events monthly.
Arcola Community and Economic Development (ACED)
DETAILS
$41,541
Establish a new legal entity, including governance structure and board.
Launch Arcola Kids in Development Foundation and conduct community outreach.
Promote community awareness on the importance of early education.
Develop an Action Plan around the goals of: 1) development of a 0-3 prevention program, 2) encouraging the establishment of more licensed child care providers in the community, and 3) exploring the feasibility of a child care facility in our community.
Birth to Five Forum of South Cook County
DETAILS
$68,000
Launch an Every Child Screened Campaign.
Screen 300 children ages 0-5.
Increase enrollment in early childhood programs by 25%.
Boone County Maternal and Child Health Advisory Council
DETAILS
$90,228
Implement a four-phased approach to incorporating racial equity into the council’s planning process and current and future functions.
Continue to utilize the nationally recognized eight-step guide from the Prevention Institute to implement and develop an effective coalition.
Interview, hire, and train a Maternal Child Health Strategist. Some of the Strategist’s responsibilities include assisting with the implementation of council priorities and action plan and keeping the council’s data dashboard up to date.
Develop, draft, complete, present, and utilize the Maternal Child Health Data Report.
Carbondale Early Childhood Impact Table
DETAILS
$52,700
Utilizing data and input from the Community Conversation held in June 2023, create and begin to implement the Early Childhood Impact Table's work plan designed to strengthen the city’s Early Childhood Education and Care infrastructure.
Engage both kindergarten and preschool teachers in planning a community-based kindergarten transition event in the Spring of 2024 that helps build a bridge between preschool and kindergarten.
Building on the successful school readiness initiative implemented in FY23, expand the community’s outreach efforts to empower caregivers to support their child’s development from birth, so they are ready for kindergarten.
Champaign County Home Visiting Consortium (CCHVC)
DETAILS
$108,758
Increase communication and awareness through the development and launch of a new website featuring a chat option connecting parents/caregivers/professionals to an Early Childhood expert to help answer, assist, direct them to the best information and resources.
Host community outreach events with on-site developmental screenings.
Increase enrollment in quality Early Childhood programs and services by engaging with waitlisted families.
Chicago Head Start Collaborative
DETAILS
$113,764
Identify short- and long-term system infrastructure improvements that would support increased enrollment in community-based programs in Chicago.
Strengthen collaborative ways of working to ensure clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and shared goals and activities.
Increase public awareness of Chicago Head Start Collaborative, including the understanding of the scope and scale of services offered by member organizations and goals and activities of the collaborative.
Clay and Effingham County Childcare Collaborative
DETAILS
$84,150
Create a Coordinated Intake System utilizing the IRIS software and offer education to agencies using the platform. This will be measured by having 40 agencies trained and using the IRIS platform.
All ECEC programs participating in the collaborative will be at 90% enrollment or higher within six months of implementing this approach and maintain that metric on a monthly basis thereafter (based on current staff available).
Marketing of programs with open slots will be distributed monthly via email to all Collaborative members. The Collaboration will also compare Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map (IECAM) data to local Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) enrollment data to look for targeted outreach in the community.
Staff will monitor and track when families are referred to a service. If there has been a referral in the system more than five working days, staff will contact the agency to see about access to the system and if additional information is needed.
Collaboration for Early Childhood Care and Education
DETAILS
$113,764
Track the number of people interacted with and how those interactions took place. When possible, the home ZIP code and home language of the connections will also be tracked.
Track the number and type of referrals made to Early Childhood resources. When possible, the location of those referrals will also be tracked.
Track its connection with early learning programs and partner agencies.
Track the outreach materials distributed, including flyers, baby bundles for new parents, online advertising of concerts, and printed magazines.
Connect Home Visiting Chicago
DETAILS
$113,764
Connect Home Visiting Chicago will track the following:
New community partnerships and referral pathways.
Number of families supported through the coordinated intake process.
Number of families participating in Group Connections
Crawford County Kids Association*
DETAILS
$75,000
Create a written plan to improve and expand Early Childhood services, provider opportunities, and capacity for quality care for providers, staff, parents, and children in Crawford County. This plan will include and mitigate ECE gap identification findings gleaned from community surveys, such as a Birth to Third Grade alignment for expanding Early Childhood services in Crawford County.
Continue to address and support child care training and staff deficiencies in Crawford County.
Create a pathway to assist newly licensed home, family, and child care providers in Crawford County, including business modeling and support for entry into the ExceleRate Quality Rating Illinois program.
Provide an ongoing training and support network in Crawford County for the Early Childhood Advisory Team members and Crawford County licensed providers.
* funded by the Early Childhood Governance and Finance Project.
DeKalb County Collaborative for Young Children (DCCYC)
DETAILS
$87,797
Hire a Community Navigator to support Coordinated Intake.
Research opportunities for increased access to licensed care.
Early Childhood Alliance of Niles Township
DETAILS
$105,409
Monitor available preschool/child care slots.
Hire Family Liaison Contacts, then follow up with the number and types of contacts the Family Liaisons have with community members.
Track publicity of articles, press releases, advertising equivalency, as well as audience reach.
Track information such as the number of attendees at early childhood events and follow-up survey feedback.
Early Childhood Coalition of the Illinois Quad City Area
DETAILS
$94,478
Optimization of the ECE workforce: The ECC will offer a series of training cohorts for Early Childhood Educators to enhance their skills and knowledge in child development, behavior management, and best practices. The ECC will also facilitate networking opportunities to create a sense of community and foster collaboration among professionals in the field.
Culturally Responsive Programming: Culturally responsive practices recognize and value the diverse backgrounds and experiences of children and their families. Incorporating these practices helps educators create inclusive and equitable learning environments in which children and families feel seen, heard, and respected.
Streamlined Service Coordination and Communication: The ECC website and social media platforms are powerful tools for streamlining early childhood educators' communication. Moreover, leveraging independent consultant work will provide valuable insights and ideas for improving communication within the field.
Access to Specialized Supports: Services that support families are vital. Navigating disabilities, trauma exposure, and difficult behaviors require specialized attention. The ECC wants to ensure that every child has equal access to the help they need to be successful in early childhood, kindergarten, and beyond.
Early Childhood Forum of Central Illinois
DETAILS
$99,493
Through the Early Childhood Navigator's role, Central Illinois will increase the number of developmental screenings completed by 5% compared to last fiscal year. Children not already enrolled in a program will be supported in finding a program that meets their needs.
Using the Help Me Grow Affiliate Model, create four separate work groups to build a single system for navigating Early Childhood services: 1-Family & Community Outreach; 2-Physician Outreach; 3-Centralized Access Point; and 4-Data Collection & Analysis.
Work with other Early Childhood systems and organizations in the Region to systematically combine efforts, reducing duplication of practices and services to families, and streamline the process for families to reach the services they need.
Elgin Partnership for Early Learning
DETAILS
$113,764
Increase community and family awareness about the importance of early learning and enhance access to Early Childhood Education and Care programs, information, resources, and services by engaging with families where they are.
Strengthen family and community engagement opportunities by meeting families where they are (i.e., playgroups, laundromat programs, Learning On the Go, events, etc.) to learn from and elevate family voice to change local Early Childhood systems.
Continue discussions on bridging the slot gap and where slots are needed to enhance the availability of high-quality Early Childhood slots in areas with limited
Early Care and Education resources.
Co-create a data strategy and Theory of Change with EduDream Research Consulting Firm to help gain clarity on the Collaborative’s intended outcomes and facilitate impact measurement over time, with a focus on equity.
Develop: 1) A clear definition of outcomes and Theory of Change, 2) Data Collection Analysis Framework, 3) Stakeholder engagement measures, 4) Equity Focus Evaluation.
Evanston Early Childhood Council
DETAILS
$90,228
Continue support of unique teacher cohort pilot program to address staff shortages in center-based child care, home visiting, and home child care settings.
Host regular events, free of cost, giving families an opportunity to build community and participate together with their young child in a rewarding, fun activity, and gain access to information about different Early Childhood programs and resources in Evanston.
Continue to deepen community partnerships.
Track publicity of articles, media releases, advertising equivalency, and reach of audience publications.
Glenbard Early Childhood Collaborative
DETAILS
$113,764
Grantee will track the following:
Increased connection and outreach with families.
Increased events and activities for families with young children.
Increased FREE developmental screening opportunities for children aged two months to five years of age.
Greater East St. Louis Early Learning Partnership
DETAILS
$90,228
Support Year 3 Implementation of the Kindergarten Transitions Evaluation Project, a district-wide approach which supports the coalition's understanding and evaluation of 1) children's experiences starting kindergarten and 2) families' experiences with helping their children prepare for, enroll in, and start kindergarten.
Host Annual Spring Family Cafes Series.
Host Week of the Young Child Series: A week-long set of events that celebrate early learning, young children, and adults in their lives.
Greene County Health Department
DETAILS
$52,000
By February 2024, identify current assessments, resources, tools, and processes used at intake per each Collaboration member organization.
By March 2024, identify three Collaboration intake processes, tools, programs, and innovative strategies that will ensure the reduction of assessment redundancy and improved collaboration caseloads of each organization.
By April 2024, complete analysis of costs for a Coordinated Intake model, program, and design based on Collaboration discussion/approval.