Meet the Recipients / Conozca a los Beneficiarios
Birth to Five Illinois Funding Recipients
Scroll and click below to learn more about the Birth to Five Illinois funding recipients and the great work they are doing within their communities!
Arcola Community and Economic Development (ACED)
FY24 DETAILS
Establish a new legal entity, including governance structure and board.
Launch Arcola Kids in Development Foundation and conduct community outreach.
Promote community awareness on the importance of early education.
Develop an Action Plan around the goals of: 1) development of a 0-3 prevention program, 2) encouraging the establishment of more licensed child care providers in the community, and 3) exploring the feasibility of a child care facility in our community.
Birth to Five Forum of South Cook County
FY23 DETAILS
Launch an Every Child Screened Campaign.
Screen 300 children ages 0-5.
Increase enrollment in early childhood programs by 25%.
Bureau Henry Stark Early Childhood Collaboration
FY25 DETAILS
$12,500
Purchase postcards for distribution to saturate the three-county region.
Purchase and distribute engagement stations. Each engagement station will consist of an informational poster providing knowledge on early childhood development, a table, two chairs, books, and an activity for the children.
Distribute disposable activity placemats and crayons to local restaurants.
Clay and Effingham County Childcare Collaborative
FY24 DETAILS
Create a Coordinated Intake System utilizing the IRIS software and offer education to agencies using the platform. This will be measured by having 40 agencies trained and using the IRIS platform.
All ECEC programs participating in the collaborative will be at 90% enrollment or higher within six months of implementing this approach and maintain that metric on a monthly basis thereafter (based on current staff available).
Marketing of programs with open slots will be distributed monthly via email to all Collaborative members. The Collaboration will also compare Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map (IECAM) data to local Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) enrollment data to look for targeted outreach in the community.
Staff will monitor and track when families are referred to a service. If there has been a referral in the system more than five working days, staff will contact the agency to see about access to the system and if additional information is needed.
Coles County Child Care Collaboration
FY25 DETAILS
$12,500
Create a legal, non profit entity that will identify challenges and potential solutions to the child care crisis in our community.
Establish a Board of Directors.
Promote community awareness on the importance of early child care and education by hosting outreach and education events, and create an action plan with goals of encouraging more licensed child care providers in the community.
Explore the feasibility of a child care center in the Coles County community, including the expansion of the Child and Family Life Education Center at Eastern Illinois University (EIU).
LEAD Chicago
FY25 DETAILS
$12,500
Hold regular Steering Committee meetings and strategic planning sessions to develop a comprehensive and long-term collaborative project charter.
The project lead will complete four modules from Illinois Action for Children's Partner Plan Act resources to support their professional development.
Measure and evaluate cross-sector representation in LEAD Chicago by monitoring the number of sectors represented in collaboration meetings.
Monitor stakeholder engagement by tracking the number of organizations actively participating in LEAD Chicago meetings, with a target of maintaining consistent engagement from at least eight organizations.
Measure community reach by identifying the number of families and children potentially impacted by collaboration initiatives by conducting annual geographic and demographic analyses to understand the scope of influence.
Regional Office of Education #35 Early Childhood Collaboration
FY24 DETAILS
Create an Early Childhood Collaboration that will identify challenges and potential solutions to improve the services and programs available to families with young children in the area.
Create a study to discover how lack of child care impacts the local workforce and economy of La Salle, Marshall, and Putnam Counties.
Develop branding/logo and website for the Collaboration.
Resource Hub Collaboration
FY25 DETAILS
$12,500
Creation and launch of the online Resource Hub.
Identification of service gaps.
Collaboration with partners to expand the Resource Hub.
Saline County Early Childhood Collaboration
FY25 DETAILS
$12,500
Secure a physical space/HUB to provide Saline County with Early Childhood education, resources, and support service opportunities.
Facilitate and attend community outreach events to promote awareness, foster relationships, and share resources.
Coordinate with school districts, Child Care Providers, Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants, and Youth Clinicians to address needs and/or concerns that will aid in developing actionable strategies.
Create programs and training opportunities focused on Early Childhood topics that aim to support children, parents and caregivers.
Scott County Collaborative
FY25 DETAILS
$12,500
Compile and publish Community Needs Assessment Report.
Host four or more stakeholder engagement meetings.
Create an Early Childhood Resource Map showing the available early childhood programs, providers, and services in Scott County.
Develop a written strategic plan for service expansion.