Earlier this year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed the creation of a Department of Early Childhood in Illinois. This new department would consolidate the administration and delivery of the state’s early childhood services into a single, unified agency. If approved, the department would build upon state lawmakers’ historic investments in Illinois’ youngest residents and streamline the complex system families and early learning providers have lamented for decades.
The early education and care ecosystem in Illinois today is siloed. Three agencies — the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) — oversee different aspects of the system. Most early learning providers rely on funding and oversight from all three, causing inefficiencies, confusion and frustration. Meanwhile, families must toggle between agencies to decipher the simple question of where to access high-quality, affordable and reliable child care.
Maneuvering among these three agencies forces providers to juggle multiple sets of eligibility criteria and compliance standards. Providers must cross-reference child care licensing regulations, staff credentialing guidelines, family eligibility benchmarks, and health and safety requirements. Program staff members spend hours on this paperwork, which saps precious time from supporting young children’s learning and development. With teacher shortages and burnout already affecting the early childhood sector, we can’t afford to maintain the status quo.
Too often, families carry the burden of navigating antiquated processes that need overhaul and modernization. For example, parents or caregivers who hope to enroll their children in an Illinois early learning program may need to complete more than 30 pages of paperwork and provide supporting documentation, including identification, health and immunization forms, proof of income and proof of residence. In the most complicated scenarios, a family may need multiple visits with caseworkers to be deemed eligible for services. It may then take several weeks for a child to be admitted, which can be devastating to a parent who cannot work without stable child care.
Other states, such as Colorado and New Mexico, have already created dedicated early childhood agencies because they, too, recognized that administrative hurdles undermined quality care. Illinois has a similar opportunity.
By consolidating early learning and care programs under one agency, we could ensure a more cohesive, coordinated and streamlined approach to early childhood education and alleviate the bureaucratic burden historically carried by families and providers. Agency staff will be housed under one roof, which will help integrate services, smooth administrative workflows and improve client-facing services.
The creation of the Department of Early Childhood will help educators spend more time where it matters: building brains to help every child reach their fullest potential. No longer stuck behind layers of red tape, families can focus on finding a high-quality program that works for them.
High-quality early learning is a public good, and research shows that every dollar invested in such programs yields a $9 return in social benefits — better educational outcomes, lower crime and higher adult wages. Improving access to early childhood services creates ripple effects Illinoisans will benefit from for generations to come.
With a new Department of Early Childhood, we all win.
Bela Moté is president and CEO of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning and was recently appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to serve as chair for the Department of Early Childhood’s Transition Advisory Committee.
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