Early Childhood Initiatives in Illinois

This is a visual representation of six credential levels ranging from noncredit community-based training through completion of a graduate degree. Each credential level combines education, work and practical experience, and professional contributions in the field of early care and education. By advancing on the career lattice, practitioners can potentially open up additional career opportunities for themselves.

In 2004, the Illinois Department of Human Services established Caregiver Connections to bring mental health services to Illinois child care providers. This unique, free support program helps child care providers recognize, understand, and respond to the social-emotional needs of the children, birth through age 5, in their care. Local Caregiver Connections consultants and the local Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) agencies share the same territories and work in partnership to provide training and technical assistance to Illinois child care providers. The project is funded by the Illinois Department of Human Services and coordinated by Chaddock.

The Illinois Department of Human Services’ (IDHS) Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies work together to support families to get the information and resources they need to find and select the best child care for their child.

Several state initiatives serving young children are supported by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), including Preschool for All, Prevention Initiative, Early Childhood Special Education, Early Childhood Professional Development, and the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS). Call (217) 524-4835

Professionals who have worked in early childhood education and are seeking additional credentials and/or a degree in early childhood education may be eligible for the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program. The program was created to address the shortage of qualified early childhood educators by encouraging the pursuit of credentials and advancement of already-held degrees in early childhood education, with an aim toward building a strong, well-prepared workforce. 

This is a Preschool Least Restrictive Environment initiative of the Illinois State Board of Education. The project promotes increasing high quality inclusive education for each and every preschool aged child by providing technical assistance and professional development to early childhood professionals and families in Illinois.

This is a statewide quality rating and improvement system designed to make continuous quality improvement an everyday priority among early learning and development providers. The program establishes standards for helping infants, toddlers, and preschool -age children develop intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. It provides a framework for early learning and development professionals to identify opportunities for improvement, increase their skills, and take steps to make positive changes. ExceleRate Illinois is administered through the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) under the joint direction of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Illinois State Board of Education.

Great START (Strategy to Attract and Retain Teachers) can provide you with extra money on top of what you’re already making. Great START is a wage supplement program that rewards eligible early care and education practitioners in DCFS-licensed child care centers and family child care providers for receiving higher education and remaining at their current place of employment.

Illinois Cares for Kids is the one place Illinois parents, grandparents, caretakers, teachers, and child care providers can access all things related to early childhood in Illinois.

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is a nonprofit organization advocating for individuals who work with or on behalf of children with special needs, birth through age eight, and their families. Support is provided for classroom teachers, child care providers, early interventionists, and higher education professionals / students who work with children with special needs and their families.

This page contains updates, materials, and all things Pyramid Model for providers and programs in Illinois. 

This website provides a central place for Illinois early childhood care and education professionals to learn more about how to expand, deepen, or build new local early childhood collaborations in your community. Resources and information on this website will focus on how to use a community systems development approach to strengthen and improve early childhood services and systems in local communities.

This page provides information and links for specific requirements of implementing the Preschool for All grant.

The statewide accreditation monitoring (SAM) project is an initiative of Illinois AEYC and provides support and assistance to child care/early education programs in centers engaged in quality improvement with intent to achieve program accreditation. The program supports a variety of accreditation initiatives including the National Association for the Education of Young Children, National Early Childhood Program Accreditation, and the National Administrator Credential.

This is an individual-based scholarship opportunity for eligible practitioners working in early care and education (ECE) or school-age care programs.

In Illinois, the majority of early childhood services for babies, toddlers and young children are split among three state agencies – the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). A new state agency, the Department of Early Childhood will unite the majority of early childhood services into one place, making it easier for families to access critical services for stronger coordination between the various early childhood programs and services provided by the state.