Our Fiscal Year 2021 Accomplishments
Raising Illinois members have a lot to be proud of as we look back at last fiscal year.
From historic investments and implementations to noteworthy legislation and system improvements, Raising Illinois' members contributed to positive change across Illinois last fiscal year (July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2021). In spite of the ongoing pandemic and uncertainties, our coalition of committed members continued to inform and drive policy changes outlined in our Prenatal to Three Agenda.
We are excited to share a collection of our accomplishments last year and look forward to continue advancing our policy priorities and objectives in the coming year.
While not comprehensive, several notable wins for infants and toddlers include:
- Permanent extension of telehealth services for Early Intervention services and the extension of early intervention services beyond age 3, minimizing gaps in service and ensuring continuity of care
- Creation of the statutory framework for Medicaid to cover providers of home visiting and doula services
- Establishment of a formal agreement among all public universities and community colleges, as well as any private institutions that choose to participate, to work cooperatively and improve access to proper education and licensing programs for early childhood workforce
- Establishment of “job search” as an eligible activity for parents with children under age 3 to receive support through Child Care Assistance Program
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Submission of formal recommendations from the Illinois Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care Funding to the Governor to ensure coordinated local and regional governance for systems that serve infants, toddlers and their families
We also saw historic investments, including:
- $12 million in the Fiscal Year 2022 state budget for home visiting programs, beyond the existing COVID-19 pandemic relief funds for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program
- Over $725 million in federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds for the Child Care Restoration Grants, supporting the stabilization of child care providers and retention of the child care workforce (as of September 2021)
- Funds to double the number of Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health (I/ECMH) consultants providing services in child care programs