View up to date information on how Illinois is handling the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) from the State of Illinois Coronavirus Response Site
The health and well-being of children, families, and early childhood care and education providers in Illinois is of utmost importance. Helping control the spread of COVID-19 is everyone's civic responsibility. The resources below provide links to information to help keep all Illinois residents, especially families, providers, and those who support children, informed.
COVID-19 for Early Childhood contains links to the most up-to-date information and a chronological listing of updates from Illinois State Agencies. Resources to Support Providers through COVID-19 contains important guidance to support Child Care, Early Intervention, Head Start/Early Head Start, and Home Visiting Providers as Illinois enters Phase 3 of Restore Illinois. COVID-19 Resources for Families with Young Children features an Emotional Well-being Toolkit to help families manage stressors and promote wellness during these challenging times, in addition to other essential resources.
The Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development (GOECD) is currently hiring for one additional positions to support the work under the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five (PDG B-5) Renewal grant.
Administrative Assistant
Please send Cover Letters and Resumes to: GOV.OECD@illinois.gov.
GOECD is pleased to share that the Illinois Prenatal to Three Policy Agenda, built by a coalition of over 100 stakeholders statewide, is now available. Efforts are underway to advance this Agenda that is projected to impact over 100,000 infants and toddlers and their families by 2025, particularly those furthest from opportunity. Implementation of this Agenda will go a long way in achieving this Administration’s commitment to making Illinois the best state in the nation for families raising young children. If you have any questions, want more information, or want to get involved in the statewide effort, please email advocacy@theounce.org.
Click here to read the final Illinois PN3 Policy Agenda.
GOECD is thrilled to announce that from 2020 through 2022 Illinois will receive $13.4 million per year from the PDG B-5 Renewal Grant, administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education. Activities proposed in the three-year grant will expand upon work conducted in 2019 through the Initial PDG B-5 grant and will enable Illinois to increase access to quality programs in multiple settings and to strengthen programs’ support of children’s social/emotional development, kindergarten transitions, the early childhood workforce, cross-system data, and family voice in the system.
Click here to read Illinois' PDG B-5 Renewal Proposal. Click here to read the PDG B-5 Renewal FAQs. Click here to read the Press Release.
Supported by a grant from the National Governors Association, GOECD convened a group of stakeholders to study promising practices, analyze implementation costs, and seek input and feedback from dozens of external stakeholder organizations on how the state can support increased compensation for early childhood educators across the field. Findings from the report have supported or will support PDG B-5 cost modeling, PDG B-5 Renewal quality improvement pilot projects, and the Governor’s Early Childhood Funding Commission. Click here to read the consensus statement. Click here to download a summary brief.
Sign up for our monthly newsletter.