Chicago Metropolis 2020 - Early Childhood Education

Over the past twenty-five years, there has been an explosion of knowledge about child development that has implications for how young children are cared for and educated. We now know that children's learning begins at birth, years before they enter kindergarten. Affordable and high-quality early care and education are essential to ensure the future quality of the regional workforce by preparing young children to be academically and socially successful.

At the same time, quality childcare and education provide parents with the flexibility and peace of mind they need to be productive at work. The Early Childhood Education program has brought together a coalition of business leaders, elected officials, and early childhood advocates to promote broad access to affordable and high-quality educational programming.

In June 2005 at the Early Learning Council’s request, Chicago Metropolis 2020 and the University of Illinois’ Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative initiated the IECAM project. Over the past three years several foundations have provided support including: the Joyce Foundation, Irving Harris Foundation, Grand Victoria Foundation, McCormick Tribune Foundation, CME Foundation, and Spencer Foundation. Public funds have come from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and the University of Illinois. Long-term, the intent to maintain IECAM as a publicly-funded resource.

Decisions concerning the information to be included, its presentation, and potential users are made in consultation with a diverse Advisory Committee representing state agencies, advocacy organizations, and experts. Early childhood program data comes from agencies involved with delivering and managing the services and demographers at the University of Illinois provide the demographic projections. The state of the art programming for the system is provided by the University’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and with the Illinois Center for Computing in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences.

The IECAM data collection is searchable in several ways. For example, users may interact with a map of Illinois using the Geographic Information System (GIS) Map. Users can identify early childhood service sites (for Head Start, licensed- and license-exempt child care, licensed family child care, and Preschool For All/Pre-K), view individual sites, and explore the demographic characteristics of counties, townships, and legislative districts. Search results are presented in both tables and maps. A User Guide is available (click on HELP) to assist in formulating questions.
Users may also search the IECAM data collection using a variety of parameters and indicators and display the results in a table. Data tables can be exported for closer examination.

(NOTE: The GIS section of the IECAM Web site is best viewed in Internet Explorer version 7 on a PC. The GIS display does not function optimally in browsers other than IE7 on the PC, or on any browsers on the Mac.)

With more than $2 billion in receipts and nearly 56,000 full-time employees statewide, the early child care and education industry has become a significant part of the state’s economy.

New research by Chicago Metropolis 2020, Action for Children and the Illinois Facilities Fund shows that educating and caring for children under the age of six in Illinois has grown into a job-generating industry with more employees than the hotel/motel industry and the cellular and wireless communications industry and almost as many as amusement, gaming and recreation in Illinois.

This study was released on January 24, 2005 at an event in downtown Chicago attended by over 100 business, civic and governmental leaders and featuring leadership from the three organizations as well as a panel discussion with Illinois State Senator Don Harmon (D-Oak Park), Jim Sipes, Director of Child Care Solutions at Abbott Laboratories and Bill Testa, Vice President and Director of Regional Programs at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Other Useful Information

In August 2003, we released, The Business of Early Care and Education in Illinois : The Role of For-Profit Providers, the first in a series of reports developed to describe the vital role that for-profit providers play in providing early care and education services to Illinois' children.

We are now pleased to issue the second report in this series, The Business of Early Care and Education in Illinois : Providers' Tools for Improving Quality. This guide addresses the obstacles and challenges that providers of early care and education including schools, not-for-profit and for-profit organizations, and Head Start face daily as they address obstacles in trying to achieve the high standards associated with school readiness. These barriers are many, but include adequate funding, well-qualified staff, and access to information. This resource guide for providers is designed to remove one of those obstacles - access to comprehensive, user-friendly information.

This guide was developed through the generous support of the McCormick Tribune Foundation to address our shared desire to ensure all young children's success. We believe that all providers of early care and education must have access to the resources necessary to meet standards of higher quality associated with school readiness outcomes.

The guide is broken down into chapters and provides a brief overview and contact information in the following areas: Accreditation Supports; Curriculum, Assessment, and Special Needs; Family Support and Parental Involvement; Funding Resources; Illinois Policy and Advocacy Organizations; Professional Development; and Transitions to Kindergarten.

For copies of our other reports and research regarding early learning, you may visit our reports page.