The federal grant funds the Office of Early Childhood Development (OECD) and five objectives: Hard to Reach, Data Collection, Space Capacity and Facility Improvement , Workforce Development , and Community Collaboration.
Hard to Reach
- Itentify tools to reach the families in greatest need
- Updated PFA RFP to include this compondent
- Work with private partners, and Universities to survey low income families
Data
- Gather data on current early childhood programs
- Create statewide data system to measure school rediness outcomes and help parents identify quality early childhood programs
Space Capacity and Facility Improvement
- Provide grants to improve early childhood center facilities
- Increase the space capacity in communities to serve children in high quality classrooms, in areas of greatest need.
Workforce Development
- Support scholarships for teachers and professional development opportunities for teachers and universities
- Set standards for early childhood certificates
- Increase cultural and linguistic competency
Community Collaboration
- Create toolkits for models of community collaboration
- Work with communities to align services around early childhood education and home visiting
First Annual State Advisory Council Report 2010-2011
Illinois State Advisory Council application [PDF, 433KB]