Birth to Five Illinois Resource Guide Now Available

October 8, 2026

Original coverage in The Burg by Mike Trueblood (print-only); also available on Facebook.

Some help has arrived for young parents facing the challenging tasks of raising young children.

Birth to Five Illinois has released the Before K Early Childhood Universal Resource, a one-stop website for early childhood and community information.

Birth to Five Illinois Team and Council members working in Henderson, Knox, Mercer, and Warren counties are supporting parents and caregivers by launching the Before K Early Childhood Universal Resource.

It is a statewide initiative designed to reimagine the early childhood care system (ECEC) by centering the voices of families and local communities.

The initiative focuses on ensuring that all families, regardless of race, ethnicity, home language, ability, or social circumstance, have access to the services needed to prepare children for school and support their overall development.

"Our Early Resource Guide is done. We're ready to share it with the public," said Alli Chasteen family and community engagement specialist. "We're targeting parents and caregivers of children.

"Birth to Five Illinois works in every community in the State to continually assess the early childhood programs available in each region," she added.

"We help people understand what is available versus what local families say their children need.

"We bring together community members and civic leaders to bridge the gap between what exists and what families need.”

"We decided to create it so new parents can find resources on the spot," said Chasteen.

"We want to help children do well in school and become great adults in life," she continued.

"It will have lots of information when you click on it," said Chasteen. "We have important information about early education.”
"We want to connect people to the proper resources."

To connect with Birth to Five Illinois go to its website at www.birthtofiveil.com.

On the Region 33 website, complete the contact us form and submit it.

"The Regional Office of education is probably our biggest partner," said Chasteen. "They have preschool at age 3 and a preschool program from 3-5.”

Birth to Five Illinois works across all 39 regions to identify gaps in services and inform state-level decision makers and aims to make Illinois the best state in the country to raise young children.

Among its key goals are optimizing the early childhood workforce to ensure educators are well-prepared for diverse needs, enhancing collaboration and care within communities to improve access and quality of services and supporting mental and behavioral health for children and families.

The initiative operates through regional Action and Family Councils in each of Illinois’ 39 regions. These councils bring together community leaders and parents to identify local needs, provide feedback, and implement solutions for early childhood services.