Birth to Five Illinois holds grand opening for Vienna location
By James Priewe
JOHNSON COUNTY, IL — Build a statewide infrastructure for child care: That's the goal of the Birth to Five Illinois program.
On Friday, Birth to Five Region 21 held a grand opening ceremony for its office in Vienna, Illinois. Birth to Five aims to build equitable access to inclusive, high-quality early childhood services for all children and families.
Some of the outcomes of the program include a statewide mechanism to engage local stakeholders, gathering family options, creating a strategic plan that clearly identifies the need for expansion of quality early learning in every region and addressing early childhood needs within communities.
"It is our goal to make sure racism no longer plays a part in child success so we want to remove those barriers and harness information directly from families and providers as we move forward with work so as we make our recommendations up to the state level funding meets local needs," says Regional Counsel Manager Tonya Frehner.
Region 21 includes Franklin, Johnson, Massac and Williamson counties. It's one of 39 regional offices.
