Birth to Five Illinois: A Focus On Early Childhood Education and Care
October 2, 2023
Hearing local families' and caregivers' stories has been the best part of Tammy Pollitt's work with the new Birth to Five Illinois system. “We have heard stories about how hard it was (or has been) for people to get their children into a child care program,” she says. “One parent shared she had to quit her job due to the lack of child care facilities accepting infants.”
Birth to Five Illinois works in every Illinois community to determine why families are not able to access Early Childhood Education and Care services and tell decisionmakers which services local families say they need to thrive. The organization ensures all communities have a platform for local families, Early Childhood experts, and community members to say what is best for their children's futures and full and equitable access to the services families and Early Childhood educators say are needed.
“Our mission is to create a statewide, regional infrastructure that will amplify community input in developing policies and funding priorities,” says Pollitt, Region 54 Council Manager, Birth to Five Illinois. “We support the mobilization of communities to build and sustain equitable access to inclusive, high-quality early childhood services for all Illinois children and families.”
The Region 54 office supports all of Vermilion County. Each Birth to Five Illinois Region aligns with the Regional Office of Education.
Birth to Five Illinois is a department of the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA). 128 staff work in 40 ofices across the State. The Birth to Five Illinois Region 54 office is staffed by a Regional Council Manager, Family & Community Engagement Specialist, and Administrative Support.
Pollitt is exceptionally proud of the organization's Action Council and Family Council, who met regularly over the past year to help complete the Early Childhood Regional Needs Assessment. The assessment features key indings, regional strengths, family- and community-identifed needs, and recommendations for making this Region's Early Childhood Education and Care programs more accessible and equitable. The indings are available at birthtoiveil.com/region54/#report.
Some of the data in the Early Childhood Regional Needs Assessment for Region 54 (Vermilion County) is surprising. “We have 5,622 children under the age of six and only have enough early childhood spots for 23% of that population,” says Pollitt. “Region 54 also has 1,647 children under five without publicly funded Early Childhood Education and Care slots. We also found that 86% of children and families are eligible for Child Care Assistance Programs (CCAP) to help with the cost of child care but are not receiving assistance. This data begs the question, 'What are these families doing for child care?'”
Amplifying local voices and mapping the next steps will be much of next year's work. “We will gather community input and create an Action Plan to begin addressing the needs and recommendations identiied in each Region,” says Pollitt. “Please contact me if you want to get involved!”
To learn more about Birth to Five Illinois, visit birthtofiveil.com/region54.