Readers Write: Regional Birth to Five Illinois Promotes Early Childhood Services

March 4, 2026

Original coverage in The Home Town Register by Andrea Howe.

Birth to Five Illinois works in every community in the state to find out how families are accessing local Early Childhood services, inform decisionmakers and the community of the services families say they need, and take action to expand and improve access.

To gather community input, Birth to Five Illinois convenes one Family Council, comprised of parents and caregivers of children ages 8 and younger, and one Action Council, with community members and leaders with and without experience in early childhood, in all 39 Illinois regions.

Birth to Five Illinois Region 20 covers Edwards, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Pope, Saline, Wabash, Wayne and White Counties. What we heard from families in this area is that it can be hard to find contact information for those who provide early childhood education and child care. Many families relay on past experiences, recommendations from friends and family, word of mouth and social media to find care for their children from birth to age five.

In May 2024, our Region 20 team and councils released a regional action plan detailing what we as a community could do to help families overcome this barrier to accessing available services in our area.

• Goal 1: Create a place where families can easily find information about available early childhood programs in our region. In partnership with SI Families, we now have a Region 20 Resource Guide. We distributed post cards and flyers to all nine counties in the region to connect families with the guide.

• Goal 2: Promote the Child Care Assistance Program. Our team and councils connected families with our local child care resource and referral agency and Project Child to learn how to apply for and receive CCAP support.

We are making great progress in Early Childhood in Region 20 and would love for you to join us:

• Read our reports at www.birthtofiveil.com/region20/#report

• Share your story at www.birthtofiveil.com/stories

• Subscribe to our newsletter at www.birthtofiveil.com/region20/#subscribe

• Join our Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/birthtofiveillinoisregion20

Janice Crow, Birth to Five Illinois: Region 20