Birth to Five Assessment Shows Local Needs for Early Childhood Education Care

Original coverage by Taylor Leddin-McMaster for the Daily Journal.

Like many areas across the nation, Kankakee and Iroquois counties are lacking in access to early childhood education care.

According to the most recent data released in 2020 by Illinois Early Childhood Care and Education, about one-third of the area's early childhood education-aged children are not receiving state-funded preschool or home day care opportunities.

This situation is chiefly due to a lack of capacity that early childhood education facilities and providers have, but also stems from lack of funding, infrastructure and workforce. 

This was the catalyst for Birth to Five Illinois, which operates to engage local stakeholders, gather family opinion, create plans of what each region's specific needs are and enables them to come together and address the needs.

Overseeing Birth to Five in Kankakee and Iroquois counties [Region 32] is Regional Council Manager Liz Gibson, who spent 16 years working in public teaching and administration.

Based on her background, she understands the needs in the early childhood education arena.

"We [Birth to Five] serve as a bridge between communities and policymakers so family, caregiver and professional experiences can guide the decisions made to expand or enhance services across the state, and specifically for our area," Gibson said during a presentation last week at the Kankakee Public Library.

While the agency focuses on children from birth until they enter kindergarten, Gibson said the span of early childhood is from pregnancy to age 8.

"Investing in early childhood is the key to laying the foundation for a long and prosperous future."

Noticing a need in the Kankakee and Iroquois communities, an assessment was done that examined the recommendations for bettering early childhood education.

With similar programs/organizations in the area — such as United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois Counties' Success by Six program — Gibson made it clear that this is not a contest.

She said Birth to Five will "work not in competition, but in collaboration." 

This was exemplified during the presentation, when, during the feedback portion, Kankakee School District 111 Superintendent Genevra Walters and representatives from the Kankakee Area YMCA and the local Play Palz day care facility agreed to chat and share ideas for improvement.  

The goal now, Gibson said, is to take the recommendations made by the assessment and create tangible steps to make them a reality.

This next phase will be done through community partnerships and Birth to Five councils made up of superintendents, counselors, parents and more. 

This goal ties back into the presentation's opening remarks made by Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe.

Rowe said it doesn't take a special degree or certificate "to just care." For those with that one qualification can play a part in the solution.

ROWE'S REMARKS

Rowe didn't beat around the bush when opening the presentation.

"We're all aware of the issues facing Kankakee, especially involving youth firearm offenders," he said.

Rowe cited a past statistic from the Kankakee Police Department that nearly 85% of the shooting and firearm offenses in the city of Kankakee were committed by juveniles.

"We also know that our statewide juvenile justice system is very, very ill-equipped to deal with these challenges and to curb this crime."

Rowe said the solution to community violence "is not going to be found in policing and prosecuting."

"The solutions to these problems are going to be found in much quieter spaces: like the child's home; on his or her block; in the child's school; in their church community. And what the child ultimately finds in those spaces is going to determine what they do in all of our spaces."

One thing, he said, is clear: "All of us can do better." 

"I want you to leave today with a call to action," he said, paving the way for Birth to Five's current phase of creating plans of action.

Following his introduction, Rowe presented Gibson with a challenge coin on behalf of the state's attorney's office. 

"It's not easy to start a new initiative, it's not easy to gather information and tell a community what role they need to play, what those next steps look like.

"That is a challenge, it takes a lot of courage to stand up and do the work that you and your agency and all your partners here today are doing. Thank you for that, we appreciate that, and we look forward to the changes."

For more information on Birth to Five Illinois, go to birthtofiveil.com. To read the full assessment, go to birthtofiveil.com/region32/#report.