ILLINOIS ACTION FOR CHILDREN
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Mission Statement
Illinois Action for Children is a catalyst for organizing, developing, and supporting strong families and powerful communities where children matter most. Since its founding in1969, the organization has been working to ensure all children (birth to 5) receive the high-quality care and education needed to thrive. Inherent in our mission is a focus on racial and economic justice, as all our work has been deeply rooted in, continuously engages, and reflects the needs of families of color and other families furthest from critical education, community, and family resources. Our reach is vast, touching the lives of more than 175,000 children, families, and child care and education professionals and dozens of communities in Cook each year. 50 years ago, a small group of passionate politically active women decided to take action in response to the way poverty was adversely affecting urban families--asking a question that nobody else had considered, “What about the children?” This simple question led to the formation of a grass-roots organization that would later become Illinois Action for Children. Since our earliest days, IAFC has been on the front lines, raising awareness and shaping public policy to ensure Illinois’ early care and education (ECE) system delivers high-quality early childhood programs and supportive services that meet the needs of all children and families, no matter where they live. Over time, our approach has deepened and evolved, but we have never wavered from our work to answer our founder’s question. Whether we’re delivering direct service child care and preschool programs, improving teacher and program quality, uniting and strengthening communities and collaborations to benefit children and families with the greatest need, or leading effective advocacy initiatives--we are focused on making sure that every child in Illinois has the resources needed to grow, develop and thrive. Our “Strong Families, Powerful Communities” approach to child development, Pre-K education, and other family and community supports epitomizes our unwavering belief that these services are most effective when delivered as part of a comprehensive system that includes parents and communities. This broad strategy of supporting children by supporting families is a proven and effective means to address overarching issues of endemic poverty, which are the root cause of the educational failure of America’s poorest children. In the last year, IAFC has served more than 175,000 children and families and nearly 40,000 early care and education (ECE) providers through a broad spectrum of programs and services.
About This Cause
IAFC is committed to fighting poverty and racial inequity through a multi-generation approach that: -Ensures access to strong child care and early education foundation -Provides authentic, intense family engagement and support to help parents achieve their -goals of stability and self-sufficiency -Fosters program and teacher quality through professional development, training -Reduces the chronic absenteeism of children through third grade -Shapes and Strengthens state and national policies so that all children receive a high-quality education -Helps ensure the health and well-being of children through nutrition and mental health services. Program categories are highlighted below: EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS is comprised of four Early Learning Centers in Chicago’s South Suburbs (Chicago Heights, Dolton, Ford Heights, and Harvey); Home Visiting, which provides support for pregnant women and mothers with children birth through age three; and a network of 21 Early Learning Partner Sites in Cook County’s south and west suburbs, private early childhood centers which IAFC supports through certified teachers, professional development and other supports to enhance their quality and ability to serve the most at-risk children and families. PROVIDER SERVICES offers several programs that focus on creating excellence in early care and education, including a variety of program improvement and staff professional development opportunities; operating the Healthy Food Program, which provides education and (federal) reimbursement to home-based Family Child Care Providers who follow USDA guidelines and serve nutritious foods to the children in their care; and Mental Health Consultation, which provides support to early care and education (ECE) providers in developing appropriate learning environments and delivering strategies to address difficult behaviors that may arise in the classroom. FAMILY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS deepens and expands families’ relationships with Child Care providers, faith-based communities, local service providers, businesses, and communities, through family engagement training (fathers and grandparents groups); community engagement capacity building and technical assistance; and Teen Parent Outreach. PUBLIC POLICY AND ADVOCACY works to advance legislative and administrative policies that support children, families and the field of early care and education. We influence policy and systems change for young children, families and providers through grassroots organizing, advocacy, and research. COMMUNITY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT (CSD) has been our approach to leading and supporting community collaborations to build and continuously improve local systems of early childhood services for nearly a decade. In December 2017, we were awarded a five-year grant to partner with the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) ISBE to design and deliver comprehensive capacity building supports for early childhood community-wide collaborations throughout Illinois. Our focus will be on training, technical assistance, and coaching to community collaborations that are focused on enrollment of high-need children ages 0-5 into high-quality early learning programs. FAMILY RESOURCES administers IDHS’ Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) for Cook County, which provides financial assistance for Child Care and early learning programs to eligible low-income working parents (or parents in school); As Cook County’s Child Care Resource and Referral Agency (CCRR), we help parents find quality, affordable Child Care and ECE programs through our database of over 6,000 providers. Together, these vital programs and services drive us toward our vision of a future in which all children and families have the resources they need to reach their greatest potential.