Addressing Needs of Young Parents: Birth to Five Illinois Council Assists in Kids’ ‘Critical’ Early Years

August 6, 2026

Original coverage in Shaw Local by Brenda Schory.

When Josephine Dubsky first learned about the state’s Birth to Five Illinois program, her son was 6 months old.

She served on a panel in a community forum about when a child needs a development assessment and access to early intervention.

“There’s so much shame in admitting something is not what it should be with their child,” said Dubsky, a St. Charles resident. “I was postpartum and tired, trying to have him evaluated. ... He was not talking as much. I panicked, not knowing where to go. I think that’s a lot of people. They panic.”

Now with two children, age 3 and 2, Dubsky is serving her third year on a Birth to Five Illinois Family Council in Region 31, which serves Kane County.

“My perspective was on being able to know where to go when you need early intervention,” Dubsky said. “That’s the whole point of Birth to Five Illinois. ... There should be no shame in asking for assistance.”

In 2021, the Governor’s Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding made recommendations to provide more equity in the early childhood education services.

The work resulted in developing 39 Birth to Five Illinois Action Councils and 39 Birth to Five Illinois Family Councils.

The family councils, like the one Dubsky serves on, provide a way for local families to create a strategic plan to identify early learning needs in each region.

“There has been an understanding that 0 to 5, that time period, is very critical for a child’s development,” said David Quiroz, the regional council manager for Region 31. “We know there is inequality. ... We know there’s barriers families have to being able to access what they need. As a structure, we’re looking into supporting them more. That’s where we come in.”

The Regional Councils assess early childhood programs to understand what is available versus what families want and need, Quiroz said.

“We bring together community members – these families, these caregivers of young children – with civic leaders, with [school] districts and officials, with directors of child care programs – to kind of bridge the gap and create a communication line,” Quiroz said, “ultimately, to match what families want with what we have available for them.”

Quiroz said Kane County has some areas with a variety of services and others he considers deserts.

“Elburn and Sugar Grove, I would consider them early childhood deserts. ... There are some [centers] that just opened up in the last six months,” Quiroz said. “Then you’ve got Aurora and Elgin, where there are a lot more options, home care and center-based. And then you’re kind of in the middle when it comes to St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, where there are some, but not as many.”

The high cost of child care is another factor, he said, so the council tries to make families aware that they can apply for state and local funds for child care, he said.

The Illinois Department of Early Childhood offers a Child Care Assistance Program that helps eligible families pay for child care up to age 13 while the parents are working or attending school.

Another problem is not enough providers to assess young children. Quiroz said some parents report being on a waitlist for six months to a year for a screening.

“This is something we are seeing across the state,” Quiroz said. “We don’t have enough people to do these kinds of screenings.”

Every summer, region leaders begin recruiting for new family council members who have children younger than 5, he said. The family councils meet with the region’s leadership once a month.

Anna Kendall of St. Charles endorses serving as a family council member, as she is serving out her first year. Kendall said she learned about Birth to Five Illinois at an event where different agencies were represented.

“I met David and I was just really fascinated by what this organization was about,” Kendall said.

“Birth to Five Illinois’ whole mission is to hear from families who have children under 5 and hear what’s working and not working. I was really excited about that,” Kendall said.

Family councils are so important that the state provides a stipend to them for working with the Birth to Five Illinois Regions, Quiroz said.

“They are the boots on the ground. They are the ones who are constantly helping us drive the direction of our work and giving us – in real time, this is what we are hearing,” he said. “We work directly with families from every corner of the state of Illinois, and we listen to their experiences. Their unique expertise as it relates to their children, and then we share those with people in their communities who can make a difference.”

For information about Birth to Five Illinois in Region 31, visit birthtofiveil.com.