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Early Childhood Education Division develops and provides materials
and support for the Illinois Early Learning Standards and
their use in early childhood programs, and for programs that
focus on children from birth to eight years old, early intervention
for at-risk students, pre-Kindergarten programs, early literacy,
and partnerships among schools, communities and service providers.
 Early
Childhood Professional Development Opportunities
Preschool for All
Funding Report — November 2006
In August 2006 the Illinois State Board of Education awarded
new Preschool for All funds to 101 Pre-kindergarten programs.
Preschool for All was signed into law in July 2006, after
passing the General Assembly with strong bipartisan support.
In August, $45 million in new funding was awarded to 103 preschool
and 15 at-risk infant-toddler programs, which will reach approximately
10,000 new children in 2006-07.
Early Childhood Block Grant
The Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) program is being expanded
to include the Preschool for All Children program. It
is funded by the State of Illinois in FY 2007 for $318 million
which includes an additional $45 million that was added to
the program for Preschool for All Children. The ECBG program
consists of four initiatives. The largest of these is the
Prekindergarten Program for Children at Risk of Academic
Failure, which served over 72,000 three and four year olds
in FY 2005 in preschool classrooms across the State of Illinois.
The other three initiatives are Preschool for All Children
which will expand the services of the Prekindergarten Program,
Model Early Childhood Parental Training (birth to three years
and three to five years), and Prevention Initiative for Programs
Offering Coordinated Services to At Risk Children and Their
Families (birth to three). In FY 06, the Prevention
Initiative program provided services to 9,554 parents and
10,051 children birth to three years of age.
Early Childhood Special Education
Programs
Early Childhood Special Education programs for children ages
three to five are part of the special education continuum
as operated by the public schools of Illinois. While the Illinois
Department of Human Services is the lead agency for special
education services for children ages birth to three, ISBE
Early Childhood staff act as liaisons to that program.
Even Start
Family Literacy Programs
The Even Start Family Literacy program is a federally funded
program designed to break the cycle of illiteracy by improving
educational opportunities for low income families. Early Childhood,
Adult Literacy, Parenting Education and Interactive Literacy
Activities between parents and their children are required
components of this grant.
Additional Contact Information
If you have further questions about Early Childhood services
in the State of Illinois, please feel free to contact any
of us at 217/524-4835.
Division Administrator: Kay
Henderson
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