In May 2024, the Illinois House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 1, which authorized the creation of the Illinois Department of Early Childhood. Spearheaded by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the new agency will aim to improve access to early education and care services by better aligning and coordinating programs, data, and policies.
The Department of Early Childhood will bring together programs that previously operated under the Illinois State Board of Education, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Children and Family Services. It will oversee preschool funding, regulations, and program licensing, as well as early intervention, home visiting, and child care financial assistance programs. Housing everything under one agency, advocates say, will support efficiency and transparency, increase savings, and eliminate duplicative services that confuse providers and families.
Although the Department of Early Childhood came into existence on July 1, 2024, it will not be fully functional until July 1, 2026. To make a smooth administrative transition without an interruption in services, Governor Pritzker formed a task force to develop a plan for the new agency.
Sources:
Start Early. (2024). Start Early Statement on Illinois Department of Early Childhood.
Vinicky, A. (2024). Bill Creating New State Agency Focused on Early Childhood Programs Headed to Pritzker’s Desk. WTTW Chicago.
Smylie, S. (2024). Bill creating new state Department of Early Childhood clears key Illinois House committee. Chalkbeat Chicago.
Vevea, B. (2023). Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announces new agency to oversee early childhood. Chalkbeat Chicago.
Connections to Key Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) Findings:
Strong infrastructure and systems – including governance structures and data systems – are key aspects of high-quality early education and care. And research suggests there is a need for more accessible, affordable, and high-quality early education within a mixed-delivery system; strengthening infrastructure and systems is one important way states and cities can take action to address these needs and accomplish these goals.
Findings from the Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) that connect to the need for more robust infrastructure and systems, including data systems:
- Families rely on a range of formal (e.g., Head Start, center-based care, public pre-K) and more informal (e.g., home-based, relative care) early education settings; when choosing a setting for their child, families balance many logistical constraints and personal preferences.
- But for many families – and especially low- and middle-income families – early education choices remain tightly constrained due to issues of affordability and supply.
- No one early education setting type is inherently of higher quality than another; children develop and learn well in every setting type, and in the study, all setting types showed room to grow in quality.
- We have learned a great deal from this groundbreaking, large-scale study. Nevertheless, there is still much to learn about what children, families, and educators need, and about what “works” – for whom and under what circumstances – across all the diverse settings where young children learn and grow.