Birth to Five Illinois Works to Improve Access to Early Childhood Education
December 2, 2024
Original coverage in Collinsville Daily News by Stephanie Malench.
Madison County parents of early childhood age children and the professionals that help care for them have an advocate in their corner that communicates with the state of Illinois. Birth to Five Illinois has one of its 39 regional offices in Edwardsville at the Lewis and Clark Community College satellite in the N.O. Nelson Complex covering Illinois State Board of Education Regional Office of Education 41 (Madison County).
Birth to Five Illinois was launched in the fall of 2022 with funding from the Illinois State Board of Education in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Early Childhood to influence policy at the state level so they know how families are accessing local early childhood education programs and what families need in each community so services can be expanded.
The mission of Birth to Five Illinois is “to create a statewide regional infrastructure that will amplify input from communities in the development of policies and funding priorities. We support the mobilization of communities to build and sustain equitable access to inclusive, high-quality Early Childhood services for all children and families in the state of Illinois”.
Birth to Five Illinois employees monitor and advocate for changes related to early childhood education and services by sitting in on state level listening committees and meeting with local and state legislators.
Birth to Five Illinois also works for change at local and state levels through two different councils: Family Councils and Action Councils. Each region has its own councils made up of the following individuals.
Action Councils- Community members with a wide variety of experience, both inside and outside early childhood care centers
Family Councils- Parents and caregivers of children younger than eight years of age
All of the councils have the same objectives of creating and maintaining regional action plans to meet the needs of residents in that area. Councils consist of between 10 and 20 members and meet once a month. Each member’s term is one year and they can recommit for one more year. Onboarding for each year begins in September. To fill out an interest form to serve on one of the councils, go to www.birthtofiveil.com/councils.
In Madison County, there are approximately 18,000 children aged six weeks through five years old. Over 13,000 of those aged from birth to five years old are not able to get into a center because there are not enough licensed care centers. Parents looking to place their 6 weeks to three-year-old in childcare have to be placed on a waiting list for at least a year. Collinsville is an Early Childhood facility desert, meaning that there are more young children in need of services than there are spots available in licensed early childhood facilities. This lack of appropriate options means that 71% of children in Madison County do not meet kindergarten readiness expectations.
Several obstacles that potential providers face in opening an early childhood education center, including being paid on time from the state if they decide to accept Children’s Home and Aid Society (CHASI) payments for families that make less than a certain amount of money, shot requirements for teachers, and a new fire code (especially changes to door handle design, doors, and windows).
This year all of the regional councils released a report on Mental and Behavior Health Services. This was the first report released based on Regional Needs Assessments completed last year. The reports include strengths, needs, and recommendations for what different stakeholders can do. This report, the Region 41 Action Plan, and other documents relevant to Madison County can be found at https://www.birthtofiveil.com/region41/#report.
Printed materials are also available at the Edwardsville office or can be requested by sending a message to the Region 41 Director Adrienne Kaesberg through https://www.birthtofiveil.com/region41/#contact.