Get Involved
Action Center
Our coalition is made up of advocates of all kinds: early childhood providers, policy professionals, legislators, parents and community members, and we know that advocacy is nothing without action. Here in our Action Center, you'll find a variety of different actions that you can take in support of Illinois' infants, toddlers and expecting families. If you have an action you'd like to see here, send the information to communications@raisingillinois.org. Actions will be updated regularly, so check this space often and make sure you're following us on Twitter @RaisingIllinois for the latest updates!
Baby Expo for New and Expecting Families
Collaboration for Early Childhood
The purpose of the Baby Expo is to provide resources to help you meet your knowledge and health needs as a caregiver of a new baby (or soon to be one!) It will include local organizations, park districts and libraries with information on parent support, mental health, physical health, early intervention and child development, recreation and nutrition.
This is a FREE event at Percy Julian Middle School located at 416 S. Ridgeland Avenue in Oak Park and there will also be a Community Screening Day at the same time and same place, also free. All parents and caregivers who are expecting or have a child under the age of one and their families are welcome!
Timeline: Saturday, April 5 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m
Make Your Voice Heard on Early Childhood Education and Care!
University of Illinois, Northwestern University and Western Illinois University
Calling all parents and caregivers!! Please complete a survey on your views of early childhood education in the state of Illinois. This survey is part of a research-practice partnership to understand how Multilingual children and families are currently being served in birth to five settings across our state and to develop training, support, and messaging that can help create equitable and accessible early learning experiences for multilingual learners and their families.
Timeline: Ongoing
Take Action on Behalf of Illinois' Children and Families
Start Early
This February, Governor JB Pritzker proposed a Fiscal Year 2026 (FY 2026) budget that includes considerable funding increases for the state’s child care system, but maintains level funding for its remaining early childhood programs – a departure from the multi-year investments announced in 2023 as part of the administration’s Smart Start Illinois initiative.
Join Start Early in calling on our state legislature to prioritize our youngest learners today and during this new legislative session. Our babies can’t wait.
Timeline: Ongoing
Ask Your Legislators to Invest in Early Intervention Services in the Final Fiscal Year 2026 State Budget
Start Early
Despite the devastating delays thousands of families across Illinois are experiencing when trying to access the Early Intervention (EI) services they are legally entitled to receive, Governor JB Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal does not include any additional state funds for the EI program, which provides critical services to infants and toddlers who have or are at risk for significant developmental delays and disabilities. Instead, the administration is recommending a small rate increase for providers at a cost of $10 million supported by Medicaid funds. While we applaud IDHS and HFS for ensuring we are maximizing Medicaid funds, the funding increase is not nearly enough to address the historically high service delays and long waitlists that are directly tied to the workforce shortage.
We cannot address this crisis without additional state GRF. Contact your state legislators to ask for a $60 million increase in funding in FY26 for the Early Intervention program.
Timeline: Ongoing
Tell Congress to Invest in Head Start!
National Head Start Association
Head Start is currently funded under a Continuing Resolution (CR) that expires on March 14, 2025. Before the CR expires, Congress must pass a full FY25 budget that funds Head Start at the levels proposed in the Senate’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations (Labor/HHS) Bill
Timeline: Ongoing
Provider Workshop Series
EverThrive Illinois
EverThrive is offering a training for social service and healthcare providers in the maternal space, broken into 3 modules. We are looking for orgs that are interested in their staff participating in the training series. The goals of the workshop series are to raise awareness around maternal mortality and morbidity and the impacts MH and SDOH have on maternal outcomes, increase relationship building among cross sector professionals to reduce maternal mortality outcomes, and to learn the goals of downstate Illinois communities surrounding the healthcare system for birthing and postpartum persons.
If you are interested, please email Elizabeth Gonzalez at egonzalez@everthriveil.org.
November: Module 1- Maternal Mortality 101
February: Module 2- Social Determinants of Health
April: Module 3- Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health
Free Webinar: Addressing Suspension and Expulsion in Early Childhood Education Settings: An IECMH-Informed Approach
Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health
The Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health Policy & Systems Development Workgroup, in collaboration with its Briefing Paper Subgroup, has developed a valuable resource, "Addressing Suspension and Expulsion in Early Childhood Education Settings: An IECMH-Informed Approach," to aid in advocacy efforts on the critical issue of suspension and expulsion in early childhood education.
To enhance the practical application of this tool, Allison Lowe-Fotos, Aditi Subramaniam, Angela Webster, and Anat Weisenfreund have created an engaging 1.5-hour webinar based on its content.
This free webinar takes a strengths-based, systems approach to framing the issue of suspension and expulsion. It explores its relevance for infant and early childhood mental health providers and organizations, while emphasizing the importance of a proactive stance. Featuring real-world examples from two states that have successfully implemented strategies to reduce suspension and expulsion, the webinar also demonstrates how this tool can be used to support similar efforts in other states and organizations.
Coffee With Daniela
Shriver Center on Poverty Law
Daniela Velez-Clucas, Shriver Center Healthcare Justice/Immigration Attorney is hosting bi-weekly virtual gatherings where enrollment assisters and community members can bring their questions regarding immigrant eligibility for health coverage, enrollment in Medicaid/Medicaid-like programs like HBIA/HBIS and other questions at the intersection of immigration law and health care coverage.
Daniela Velez-Clucas, abogada de justicia de salud/inmigracion del Centro
Shriver, esta organizando reuniones virtuales quincenales donde las asistentes de
inscripcion y las miembros de la comunidad pueden hacer sus preguntas sobre elegibilidad de las inmigrantes para la cobertura de salud, inscripcion en Medicaid y programas similares a Medicaid, como HBIA/HBIS y otras preguntas en la interseccion de la ley de inmigracion y la cobertura de atencion medica.
Questions/Preguntas: danielavelezclucas@povertylaw.org
Timeline: Every other Friday morning from 10-11 a.m. CT
New Paid Leave Resources
Women Employed
No matter where you are in Illinois, you have a right to some form of paid leave as of January 1, 2024! In addition, nearly all workers in Chicago have new rights to paid leave. In order to ensure workers know their rights–and understand the differences between the jurisdictions of the various paid time off laws–Women Employed has created helpful educational materials.
Illinois Nontraditional-Hour Child Care Study (INCCS)
Erikson Institute
Over one in three young children in the U.S. are in child care during nontraditional hours (NTH; including early mornings, evenings, nights, and weekends). This project addresses critical gaps in knowledge about what quality looks like in child care; the experiences of families who search for and use NTH child care; the lived experiences of providers who offer care during these hours; and the types of supports needed to maintain, sustain, and grow the supply of NTH care. The knowledge gathered will provide IDHS and other states with new knowledge to inform policy development aimed at building supply and increasing equitable access, enhancing quality, and sustaining a thriving NTH child care workforce.
We invite you to read the report, and continue to check this space for updates! This study will continue into 2026.
New Insights from Recent Illinois Parent Survey Panel
Stanford Center on Early Childhood; RAPID Project
Illinois Action for Children worked with local partners to recruit parents with young children to participate in repeated surveys over 18 months. The findings represent 419 parents with young children across 34 Illinois counties who shared their experiences with material hardship, family well-being, child care, and more. Illinois Action for Children will use this data to inform its policy and advocacy initiatives.
We previously shared the opportunity to add your voice to this panel, if you were able to participate, thank you for sharing your voice! We now invite you to read the full report.
Disclaimer: The foregoing is publicly available information about upcoming events, resources, and reminders from third-party organizations. In some cases, Raising Illinois & Start Early have included links to other websites that are not owned or controlled in any way by Raising Illinois or Start Early, but that contain additional information about the events, resources or reminders. By clicking on any of the links above, you agree to be directed to the external website and you acknowledge and agree that Raising Illinois & Start Early shall not be held responsible or accountable for any information contained on such site. Please note that Raising Illinois & Start Early do not monitor any of the websites linked herein and do not endorse or approve any information posted on any such sites.