Early Childhood and Illinois’ New Single Agency

On May 9, 2024, the Illinois General Assembly passed the historic SB1, creating a single Department of Early Childhood by uniting early childhood services into one new agency. This is an important step in supporting Illinois children and their families with the programs and resources they need to thrive.  

Recently, Educator Advisory Council (EAC) members Cara Craig, a Home Visitor with Head Start/ECE Policy at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater/Childcare Network of Evanston, and Michelle Zurita-Sharpe a Pre-Kindergarten Special Education Teacher at Chicago Public Schools discussed their thoughts on the current system and their hopes for the new single agency that SB1 has established. 

How would you describe Illinois’ early childhood education and care system before the passage of SB1? How did that system impact your specific work and how have you seen it impact the children and families you serve? 

Cara: I have been working in Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Illinois for 25 years. I hope that SB1 brings some form of consistency of quality to programs. ECE has such a strong impact on children and their families, and it is not available for everyone. I recently came from teaching in a private school. We served exclusively affluent families, and these families can always find childcare. I now work for Head Start and the disjointedness of choices and availability is very hard to navigate. Having an umbrella for ECE will hopefully bring things together for families, teachers, centers and ultimately children. 

Michelle: Before the passage of SB1, the early childhood education and care system was divided with each agency working to provide similar services in silo. This division created dysfunction in the system for child care providers, families, and workforce members. As someone who went from working in a community-based child care center (CBO) to a public school setting, I experienced firsthand the lack of pay parity that exists for preschool teachers between different settings. I got paid significantly more working in a public-based child care center compared to the CBO despite the fact I followed the same curriculum, had a similar demographic of students, and worked in the same city (a 5-mile difference). In the public school setting, I also worked less hours, had better benefits, and more material support. Contrast to the public school setting, the CBO I worked at had staff that experienced greater financial hardship which contributed to a higher staff turnover rate. The turnover disrupted the educational experiences of children as they were then forced to divide between other classes or tough it out with substitutes that did not know them and their needs. Those of us who stayed were overworked amongst the staffing shortage and could not rely on help from the director, because the director too was overwhelmed navigating the multiple funding streams required to keep the center open and each of the different classrooms in compliance. 

What excites you about the move to a unified agency and why? What concerns you? 

Cara: I am excited about the positive movement towards the importance of ECE, respect for the people who do the hard work of ECE, the need to make it accessible for all. Not that it needs to be the same, but that families have access to what they need. I am concerned it will become a huge unconnected agency that doesn’t understand what is going on in the real world, losing funding, or taking funding from other important things. 

Michelle: I’m excited that the unified agency and Smart Start investments overall will go towards helping child care providers give their staff raises via the Smart Start Workforce Grants and Quality Improvement Grants.   

How will the move to a single agency impact young learners, their families, and providers/educators? How will it impact you? 

Cara: Hopefully it will bring about an understanding of resources and make them streamlined for families, less confusing and easier to access. 

Michelle: This excites me because it is a step in the right direction to retaining current workforce members and hopefully recruiting new ones. 

In your opinion, what will ensure that this is a smoother transition for all involved? Are there any key factors the state should take into consideration to improve and strengthen how the system has worked for providers, families and children? 

Cara: I think that they need to ensure that they have voices from teachers, and families. Being well-meaning is not enough.

Michelle: To ensure a smooth transition, the state needs to center family and educator voices. Providers and classroom-based staff who work directly with children need to be involved at every step of the process. They have the expertise necessary to make decisions that are not just good for children but best for them. 

How will the single agency help your early childhood community? 

Cara: Hopefully access to resources. 

Michelle: Once programs are unified under the Department of Early Childhood, I would like to see the child care deserts in my community be addressed. Where I live, in Worth, Illinois, there is not enough care available for the number of children under 6 living in the town. This requires families to travel farther away or rely on family members to care for their child while they go to work. The same can be said for surrounding neighborhoods such as Steger, Ford Heights, Justice, Hometown, Lemont, and Chicago Ridge.