Listen to an interview with Ashley Earles, Birth to Five Illinois Region 51 Council Manager!

Today is a special advocacy day called “A Day Without Child Care.” What is the impact on the community and economy if child care weren’t available?

Bloomington-Normal has seen a lot of transplants move to town in recent years. And for those with little kids, the hunt for child care can be as important as finding a home or a job.

Birth to Five Illinois provided in-person testimony in Springfield at the newly formed Senate Early Childhood Committee meeting. Liz Gibson, Region 32, discussed the importance of a mixed delivery system in eliminating preschool deserts.

In Springfield, members of our Birth to Five Illinois: Region 51 Action Council and Family Council shared their perspectives on the need for accessible, affordable early childhood programs for their families and for children.

We know this from neuroscience and from brain development that the better start we can give children, the better the outcomes for children. For many in early childhood, it’s refreshing to see the state begin to take it seriously.

Listen to Regions 48 and 53 on the radio!

A new infrastructure is trying to address Illinois' early childhood needs at the local level. The infrastructure is designed to bring community, family and provider voices to the forefront of both local and state policy decisions.

“Both Action and Family Councils are busy gathering and analyzing data. After the New Year, we will be hosting focus groups and interviews with families, school officials, businesses, child care providers, state and local officials, and other local stakeholders to gather more information to make Illinois the best state for children and families.”

“This community has a great early childhood support system … there’s always room for improvements.”

Listen to Region 12 on the radio!

Buenos Días Aurora, the first bilingual podcast in the second-largest city of Illinois, interviewed Alicia Hann and David Quiroz.

An effort is underway in Boone and Winnebago counties to study the strengths and shortcomings of early education here in order to build a more equitable and accessible system.

Tammy Pollitt from Birth to Five Illinois mentioned that throughout the county there are over 6,000 children under the age of six, but only about 1,200 are in some kind of early development or pre-K program.

Birth to Five Illinois also is looking for parents/family members caring for a child under the age of 8. People who are passionate about creating more opportunities for young children and families are invited to explore joining a Family Council.

In combination with statistical data, Birth to Five Illinois: Region 53 is gathering parents from Tazewell, Mason and Woodford counties to form a Family Council, in which they can share critical input regarding the needs of their children.