PRESS RELEASE: Birth to Five Illinois Awards Additional $3.1 Million in Grants

PRESS RELEASE
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For more information, contact:
Maggie Koller (she/her)
Communications Manager
(309) 233-0434
mkoller@birthtofiveil.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2023      

  

BIRTH TO FIVE ILLINOIS AWARDS ADDITIONAL $3.1 MILLION IN GRANTS
Funding to Support New & Existing Local Early Childhood Collaborations Across Illinois

Birth to Five Illinois has awarded an additional $3.1 million in grant funding to support the work of Local Early Childhood Collaborations. These grants will allow recipients in 20 counties across the State to address the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) needs identified within their own communities, focusing on increasing enrollment into ECEC programs.

In Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), Birth to Five Illinois is issuing $2,313,990 in Implementation Grants (two new grantees, 23 grant renewals) to existing Collaborations and $836,010 in Planning Grants (six new grantees, eight renewals) for the establishment of new Early Childhood Collaborations in areas of the State that do not currently have this type of ground-level coordination.

This funding follows the $3.2 million that Birth to Five Illinois issued in FY23, which supported 24 existing Collaborations and efforts to create nine new Collaborations. Among other things, grantees leverage these funds to hire dedicated staff, create ECEC workforce opportunities, enhance translation to engage more families, and develop engaging ways to increase families’ awareness of existing resources and supports.

“We have been working diligently to connect with communities and organizations across the State,” said Angela Hubbard, Grants and Relationship Manager for Birth to Five Illinois. “We are proud to expand our commitment to equity and access and broaden the impact of our ongoing investment in ECEC by awarding funds to eight new grantees.”

The grants are funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the Early Childhood Governance and Finance Project. More information about Birth to Five Illinois Grants may be found at www.birthtofiveil.com/grants.

Bold below denotes an FY24 new grantee. All other grantees received renewal funding in Year Two.

Birth to Five Illinois FY24 Planning Grant Recipients

  • Arcola Community and Economic Development (ACED)* - $41,541

  • Carbondale Early Childhood Impact Table - $52,700

  • Clay and Effingham County Childcare Collaborative* - $84,150

  • Crawford County Kids Association* - $75,000

  • Greene County Health Department - $52,000

  • Menard County Family Collaborative - $62,000

  • Monroe Randolph Birth to Five Collaboration - $71,000

  • North Chicago Early Childhood Collaboration* - $75,000  

  • Northwest Illinois Early Childhood Consortium* - $44,309

  • Regional Office of Education #13 Early Childhood Collaboration - $52,700

  • Regional Office of Education #26 IRIS Community Collaboration - $52,700

  • Regional Office of Education #35 Early Childhood Collaboration - $70,000

  • Southernmost Illinois Early Learning Special Education Collaborative - $50,210

  • Villa Park Area Early Childhood Collaborative - $52,700

* Asterisk indicates grants funded by the Early Childhood Governance and Finance Project.

Birth to Five Illinois FY24 Implementation Grant Recipients

  • Altgeld-Riverdale Early Learning Coalition: $47,141

  • Boone County Maternal and Child Health Advisory Council: $90,228

  • Champaign County Home Visiting Consortium (CCHVC): $108,758 

  • Chicago Head Start Collaborative: $113,764

  • Collaboration for Early Childhood: $113,764

  • Connect Home Visiting Chicago: $113,764

  • DeKalb County Collaborative for Young Children (DCCYC): $87,797

  • Early Childhood Coalition of the Illinois Quad City Area: $94,478

  • Early Childhood Forum of Central Illinois: $99,493

  • Elgin Partnership for Early Learning: $113,764

  • Evanston Early Childhood Council: $90,228 

  • Glenbard Early Childhood Collaborative: $113,764

  • Greater East St. Louis Early Learning Partnership: $90,228 

  • Madison County Alliance for Children & Families: $90,653

  • Margaret F. Lee Violence Prevention/Intervention Collaboration: $54,910

  • Niles Township Early Childhood Alliance: $105,409

  • North Lawndale Early Learning Collaboration: $109,514

  • Plano Area Alliance Supporting Student Success (PAASSS): $78,000

  • Ready to Learn: $58,055

  • Sauk Valley STARS Early Childhood Education Coalition: $91,137

  • Southern Illinois Coalition for Children and Families: $94,478

  • SPARK Early Childhood Collaboration: $59,900

  • Success By 6 - Kankakee & Iroquois Counties (with the Kankakee Area YMCA): $114,307

  • The Village Early Childhood Collaboration: $90,228

  • Willowbrook Early Childhood Coalition: $90,228

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About Birth to Five Illinois
Birth to Five Illinois’ mission 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.

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