Causes: Child Day Care, Children & Youth, Education, Food, Nutrition, Preschools
Mission: Illinois Action for Children is a catalyst for organizing, developing and supporting strong families and powerful communities where children matter most. About: As a state and national leader in early care and education community, Illinois Action for Children stands distinguished by its "strong families, powerful communities" approach to child development, pre-k education, and other family and community supports. We are celebrating our 50th anniversary of combating poverty and racial injustice through access to high quality early care and education, family and community services that help parents achieve stability and self-sufficiency, coalition building to create a continuum of care and support for disadvantaged children and families, and policy and advocacy initiatives that strengthen the state's early childhood system. Vision: Illinois Action for Children envisions a future in which:
Results: In the last year, Illinois Action for Children has served more than 175,000 children and families and nearly 40,000 early care and learning professionals. Your Impact is Meaningful:In Early Learning. . . Before starting at IAFC’s Early Learning Program, Gabriel Alvarez was virtually silent at home and in school—he wouldn’t even communicate when he was hungry or needed to use the washroom. IAFCs Early Learning teachers and staff worked closely with Gabriel in order to identify the root cause of his reluctance to speak. The teachers assessed the situation and discovered that Gabriel had a speech impediment. They quickly informed Gabriel’s parents and assisted the family in finding a speech therapist to help the preschooler overcome his impediment. Today, Gabriel is making friends, he’s active in the classroom, and he’s well on his way to a much brighter future. In Family and Community Engagement. . . Tanzania Vaughn was chronically absent from school in second grade and was on the verge of being declared chronically absent in third grade. Fortunately, her mom began working with North Lawndale READS team, a pilot program of the Steans Family Foundation, now in its third year, to address issues of chronic absenteeism Pre-K through third grade. That’s when everything changed for the better. Tanzania didn’t want to miss school but she had a serious case of Sickle Cell Anemia. In the winter, the cold temperatures would literally lock her bones making a walk to school impossible. Tanzania’s mom worked two jobs and couldn’t drive her to school on a daily basis. With close ties to the community, the North Lawndale READS staff knew there was a solution right in the neighborhood. By simply bringing parents together, Tanzania’s mom soon made a connection with another mom who agreed to drive Tanzania to school during the winter. Tanzania hasn’t missed a day of school due to weather since. And in so much more. . . Nearly 3,000,000 healthy meals and snacks provided to children through our Healthy Food ProgramMore than 100 early care and learning centers receiving early childhood mental health services that help child care providers and preschool teachers build the social emotional development of the children in their careEngaging early care and learning providers throughout Cook County to have their buildings lead tested and address high levels of lead that may impact the health of the children they serveTogether, we can build brighter futures for Illinois' children and families. Join us!
Target demographics: the most vulnerable children and families acquire and maintain access to the high-quality care and education and other vital systems of family and community support needed to succeed in school and in life
Direct beneficiaries per year: As a state and national leader in the early care and education community, Illinois Action for Children served more than 160,000 children and families and nearly 40,000 providers in the last year alone.
Geographic areas served: Illinois
Programs: Early Learning Programs: IAFCs Early Learning Programs make high-quality early education available to young children so that they will be ready to succeed when they start kindergarten. This includes four Early Learning Centers in Chicago’s South Suburbs; Home Visiting, which provides critical support for pregnant women and mothers with children birth through age three; and a network of 18 Early Learning Partners 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. IAFCs priority is serving children who would otherwise not have access to early care and education, and training parents to excel as their children's first teacher. Public Policy and Advocacy: Illinois Action for Children's public policy & advocacy program organizes nearly 4,000 advocates statewide to connect with their elected officials and urge them to make the needs of children and families, including expanded access to child care and early education, a priority in Illinois. Provider Resources : Provider Resources offers several programs that focus on creating excellence in early care and education, including a variety of program improvement and staff professional development opportunities (more than 14,000 providers received nearly 3,000 hours of training in the last year); 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 providers in developing appropriate learning environments and delivering strategies to address difficult behaviors that may arise in the classroom. Community Systems Development (CSD) : 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 FY18 we began a partnership 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 and Community Partnerships : 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); and community engagement capacity building and technical assistance. Family Resources: Illinois Action for Children administers the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and serves as the Child Care Resource and Referral Services (CCR&R) agency for the Illinois department of human services (IDHS) in Cook County, Illinois. Through these programs IAFC helps tens of thousands of low-income families each year access quality child care/early education while they work or go to school. .
Mission: Illinois Action for Children is a catalyst for organizing, developing and supporting strong families and powerful communities where children matter most. About: As a state and national leader in early care and education community, Illinois Action for Children stands distinguished by its "strong families, powerful communities" approach to child development, pre-k education, and other family and community supports. We are celebrating our 50th anniversary of combating poverty and racial injustice through access to high quality early care and education, family and community services that help parents achieve stability and self-sufficiency, coalition building to create a continuum of care and support for disadvantaged children and families, and policy and advocacy initiatives that strengthen the state's early childhood system. Vision: Illinois Action for Children envisions a future in which:
- Children and families are a priority;
- All children and families, especially those most vulnerable, have the opportunities and resources they need;
- A broad-based coalition of public and private funders and collaborators support our Mission; and
- Our diverse and talented staff demonstrates on a daily basis that every action can change a life.
Results: In the last year, Illinois Action for Children has served more than 175,000 children and families and nearly 40,000 early care and learning professionals. Your Impact is Meaningful:In Early Learning. . . Before starting at IAFC’s Early Learning Program, Gabriel Alvarez was virtually silent at home and in school—he wouldn’t even communicate when he was hungry or needed to use the washroom. IAFCs Early Learning teachers and staff worked closely with Gabriel in order to identify the root cause of his reluctance to speak. The teachers assessed the situation and discovered that Gabriel had a speech impediment. They quickly informed Gabriel’s parents and assisted the family in finding a speech therapist to help the preschooler overcome his impediment. Today, Gabriel is making friends, he’s active in the classroom, and he’s well on his way to a much brighter future. In Family and Community Engagement. . . Tanzania Vaughn was chronically absent from school in second grade and was on the verge of being declared chronically absent in third grade. Fortunately, her mom began working with North Lawndale READS team, a pilot program of the Steans Family Foundation, now in its third year, to address issues of chronic absenteeism Pre-K through third grade. That’s when everything changed for the better. Tanzania didn’t want to miss school but she had a serious case of Sickle Cell Anemia. In the winter, the cold temperatures would literally lock her bones making a walk to school impossible. Tanzania’s mom worked two jobs and couldn’t drive her to school on a daily basis. With close ties to the community, the North Lawndale READS staff knew there was a solution right in the neighborhood. By simply bringing parents together, Tanzania’s mom soon made a connection with another mom who agreed to drive Tanzania to school during the winter. Tanzania hasn’t missed a day of school due to weather since. And in so much more. . . Nearly 3,000,000 healthy meals and snacks provided to children through our Healthy Food ProgramMore than 100 early care and learning centers receiving early childhood mental health services that help child care providers and preschool teachers build the social emotional development of the children in their careEngaging early care and learning providers throughout Cook County to have their buildings lead tested and address high levels of lead that may impact the health of the children they serveTogether, we can build brighter futures for Illinois' children and families. Join us!
Target demographics: the most vulnerable children and families acquire and maintain access to the high-quality care and education and other vital systems of family and community support needed to succeed in school and in life
Direct beneficiaries per year: As a state and national leader in the early care and education community, Illinois Action for Children served more than 160,000 children and families and nearly 40,000 providers in the last year alone.
Geographic areas served: Illinois
Programs: Early Learning Programs: IAFCs Early Learning Programs make high-quality early education available to young children so that they will be ready to succeed when they start kindergarten. This includes four Early Learning Centers in Chicago’s South Suburbs; Home Visiting, which provides critical support for pregnant women and mothers with children birth through age three; and a network of 18 Early Learning Partners 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. IAFCs priority is serving children who would otherwise not have access to early care and education, and training parents to excel as their children's first teacher. Public Policy and Advocacy: Illinois Action for Children's public policy & advocacy program organizes nearly 4,000 advocates statewide to connect with their elected officials and urge them to make the needs of children and families, including expanded access to child care and early education, a priority in Illinois. Provider Resources : Provider Resources offers several programs that focus on creating excellence in early care and education, including a variety of program improvement and staff professional development opportunities (more than 14,000 providers received nearly 3,000 hours of training in the last year); 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 providers in developing appropriate learning environments and delivering strategies to address difficult behaviors that may arise in the classroom. Community Systems Development (CSD) : 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 FY18 we began a partnership 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 and Community Partnerships : 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); and community engagement capacity building and technical assistance. Family Resources: Illinois Action for Children administers the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and serves as the Child Care Resource and Referral Services (CCR&R) agency for the Illinois department of human services (IDHS) in Cook County, Illinois. Through these programs IAFC helps tens of thousands of low-income families each year access quality child care/early education while they work or go to school. .
4753 N Broadway St Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60640
312-823-1100
Children & Youth
Chicago
