Raising Illinois appreciates the Illinois General Assembly for its continued investment in our state’s system of supports for expecting families, infants and toddlers in the spending plan for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 2027), approved early Monday, June 1 and now awaiting Governor JB Pritzker’s signature. However, the final budget maintains current funding levels for most programs, deviating for the second year from Governor Pritzker’s Smart Start Illinois initiative.

The final budget for FY 2027 includes a combined $80.25 million in new state funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers, the Child Care Assistance Program, Early Intervention (EI) and the Diaper Distribution Pilot Program, as well as $85.8 million for the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) to begin administering all core early childhood education and care programs for the first time. These resources will support access to maternal health services, raise reimbursement rates for home-based child care providers, accommodate growing caseloads for child care subsidies and EI services, alleviate the financial burden of purchasing diapers for more families and operate IDEC as the two-year transition period concludes.

While the General Assembly and Governor Pritzker face increasing constraints in developing a balanced state budget, notably absent from the FY 2027 spending plan are adequate investments in home visiting services, the Early Childhood Block Grant, Smart Start Workforce Grants, the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity and the Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program. Raising Illinois is particularly concerned that the $15 million increase for EI, although consequential, will not go far enough in meaningfully raising reimbursement rates for providers and closing the wage gap that is causing such persistent service delays for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities.

“I understand this is a difficult budget year for Illinois, especially given the uncertainty at the federal level,” said Vikki Podlipni, a home-based child care provider. “At the same time, as both an educator and the parent of a child receiving Early Intervention services, I know these services are a basic need for my child and so many others to thrive. It is deeply concerning that inadequate funding could drive more therapists from the field and leave even more families waiting for services they are legally entitled to receive. No family should have to fight for their child’s basic needs. Early Intervention providers deserve fair compensation that reflects the essential work they do to help children and families thrive.”

Our coalition looks forward to continuing to work closely with Governor Pritzker, IDEC and our other state partners in FY 2027 to support Illinois’ most vulnerable young learners, their families and the workforce that cares for them.

“Raising Illinois celebrates the state’s ongoing investments in building a stronger support system for expecting families and families with young children. These investments point us in the right direction, but too many other programs and services that families, children and the workforce rely on are left behind. Without meaningful investment across the prenatal-to-age-three continuum of care, these victories will not translate to palpable change felt by Illinois' youngest and their families,” Raising Illinois Director, Simone Santiago, said. “Our coalition, alongside our partners in communities across the state, will continue advocating for the needs, priorities and dreams Illinois families have for their children.”