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Dive into Illinois' comprehensive early childhood reform program. Discover the strategic plans, initiatives, and investments aimed at enhancing the quality and accessibility of early learning programs for children and families.
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RTT-Early Learning Challenge Illinois’ Promises October 24, 2011
Our Reform Agenda • Deepening alignment and integration: • State systems • Local systems, with a focus on areas of concentrated high need • Identifying all high need children/families and providing high quality supports and programs • Moving programs from adequate to good and from good to great
Win or Lose: What We’ve committed to do
Integration at the State Level • “Birth to 8 Interagency Implementation Center” • Integrated budget and common performance management and accountability system for Early Learning and Development Programs across: • ISBE • IDHS • IDCFS • Joint responsibility across these departments for outcomes
Quality Counts (TQRIS) • Will become a jointly administered system (IDHS and ISBE) covering all early learning programs (except home visiting and EI) • Child care centers and homes • Head Start/Early Head Start • Preschool for All • Private preschools that are licensed through DCFS • New criteria that more explicitly spell out the “roadmap to quality” • At the highest tiers, much stronger emphasis on instructional quality
Quality Counts—immediate next steps • Develop criteria for Star Level 5 • Refine how ERS measures will be used at Levels 2-4 (weighting of subscales, etc.) • Plan for getting the word out to programs about the changes • Plan for public awareness campaign
Birth to Five Early Learning & Development Standards • New Birth to Three standards • Thoroughly revised Three to Five standards • Integrated roll-out process
ELD Standards—Immediate Next Steps • Finish creating age-specific benchmarks • Develop resource guides • Plan for updating all the resources that already exist supporting the Early Learning Standards
Workforce Development • All EC professionals brought into Gateways to Opportunity registry • Immediate Next Steps: • Plan for getting the word out to programs about need to register their staff in Gateways
Kindergarten Assessment • RFSP for KIDS instrument has been issued • Instrument selected will be piloted in 2012-13 in a variety of districts • Substantial statewide implementation in 2013-14 • Full state implementation in 2014-15 • Implementation committee already in place
What else we’ll do if we get the funding(and what we’d like to figure out how to do even if we don’t!)
Quality supports • Expansion of supports for moving up quality levels • Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood Teaching and Leading • Study of costs of providing care at different Star Levels; redesign reimbursement/incentives to reflect true costs • Policy changes to support participation in high quality programs • Technical assistance to communities looking to create more collaboration programs and “Community Connections” programs
Workforce Development • New credentials • Family Worker • Technical Assistance/Coaching • Home Visitor • Family Child Care • Scholarships to get ESL/Bilingual endorsement • Faculty institutes to strengthen coursework at IHEs
Data • Consortium for Early Learning Research • Link HS/EHS into state data systems • Data for Community Systems Project • Extension of Illinois Shared Learning Environment to early childhood • Integrate DCFS Sunshine system with Quality Counts rating data and make all available on parent-friendly web site
Community Collaborations • Supported to • Coordinate outreach to families • Adopt a universal family screening/risk assessment • Implement comprehensive referral, linkage, and follow-up system • Community-level accountability for early learning outcomes
Supporting State-Level Integration • Interagency Center Staffing & related systems integration—$3.6 Million • Data integration projects-$12.2 Million • KIDS implementation-$3 Million • Research-$3 Million • Quality Counts-expanded monitoring and infrastructure (incl DCFS outreach)-$9 Million • Public awareness campaign-$2 Million
Community Collaborations • Consortium for Community Systems Development-$1.9 Million • Includes support for developing more Community Connections model programs (linking FCC to preschool) • Community Collaborations-$7 Million • Strengthening Families expansion – $1 Million
Adequate to Good and Good to Great • Consortium for Workforce Development-$1.9 Million • Adequate to Good Quality supports- $11.1 Million • Good to Great Quality supports- $6.1 Million • Gateways expansion (new credentials, more PDAs, Registry expansion)- $4.9 Million • Scholarships & PD expansion-$2.8 Million