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Birth to 5 Illinois outlines Region 17 needs assessment, families' priorities for early childhood
Summary
Birth to 5 Illinois told the committee that families and local councils identified workforce training, Medicaid participation incentives for child-care providers, more play-based therapies and universal postpartum screening as priorities when addressing child-care access and early childhood mental health.
Melissa Bridal, region council manager for Birth to 5 Illinois, and Becky Thacker, family and community engagement specialist, presented the Region 17 regional needs assessment and described the work of family and action councils that center lived experience in planning.
Birth to 5 Illinois is funded by the Illinois State Board of Education and serves McLean, Livingston, Logan and DeWitt counties as a bridge between families, providers and the incoming Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC), Bridal said. The regional needs assessment aggregates data and local family testimony to identify access gaps in services for children under age 8.
Thacker said family councils review data on service use such as child-care slots and preschool-for-all availability and then tell the “story behind that data,” citing transportation barriers, half-day program limits and mismatches between program schedules and working parents’ needs. “Parents really tell us where those gaps are,” she said.
Bridal said the action council will produce top recommendations this year. Early priorities discussed at the meeting included increased training for early childhood providers on social-emotional development, trauma-informed care, gender-affirming practices and mental health first aid; tax incentives for providers who accept Medicaid; expanded play-based and art therapy options; and routine postpartum screening and supports for new parents.
Committee members expressed support for the focus on play-based learning and mental-health-informed practices and invited further collaboration.
Birth to 5 provided printed materials and encouraged committee members to contact staff for follow-up on strategic planning and community partnerships.
