Governor JB Pritzker issued his Fiscal Year 2027 (FY 2027) budget proposal this afternoon, which includes meaningful investments in Illinois’ Early Intervention program and the Child Care Assistance Program, while maintaining level funding for other early childhood programs.

Start Early is encouraged by today’s proposal, particularly at a time when significant federal reductions and uncertainty are placing real pressure on state budgets. For decades, early childhood funding has earned bipartisan support because of its proven impact on children, families and communities. Crafting a state budget under these conditions is undoubtedly challenging. But we agree with the Governor that federal instability must not weaken Illinois’ progress. Our youngest learners and their families depend on and deserve stable and well-funded early learning and care systems that help ensure strong developmental foundations during the most critical years of life.

This year’s budget also formally transfers funding for the state’s core early childhood programs to the Illinois Department of Early Childhood from their legacy agencies–the Department of Human Services and the Illinois State Board of Education–marking an important next step for the agency after its creation in 2024.

While the Governor’s request to increase state appropriations for the Child Care Assistance Program ($55 million) and the Early Intervention program ($15 million) is welcome, it does not include additional state investments in the Early Childhood Block Grant, the Smart Start Workforce Grants or the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE). Without broader systemwide investments, the state’s ability to strengthen the early childhood workforce and expand access to high-quality programs for more young children and their families may remain limited. The budget outline appears to include a $500,000 increase for evidence-based home visiting programs. We’ve asked the Department for clarification and are awaiting their response.

“Prioritizing Early Intervention and child care sends an appreciated signal that Illinois remains committed to its youngest learners, even during a difficult budget year,” Start Early Illinois’ Executive Director Celena Sarillo said. “These proposed investments recognize how essential quality early learning and care experiences are for children and working families. But we cannot lose sight of the broader funding gap. Illinois must continue working toward an early childhood system that ensures every family has access to supports they need.” 

As the Governor’s own Early Childhood Funding Commission found, the gap between what is needed and what is currently available remains significant. This budget proposal is a step in the right direction, but more investment is needed to build and maintain the early childhood system communities need. The Early Intervention program, in particular, continues to experience troubling levels of service delays tied directly to years of underinvestment in its workforce. Additionally, far too many families struggle to access home visiting or preschool services, and compensation for the early childhood workforce continues to lag across the system. 

We thank Governor Pritzker for his continued commitment to Illinois’ youngest children and those dedicated to caring for them. The proposed child care funding today would allow the Department of Early Childhood to maintain current program operations, and the Early Intervention funding will support more timely services for families. We stand ready to work with the General Assembly this spring to increase revenue and direct even more funding towards the entire early childhood system in Illinois’ final FY 2027 budget. Learn more about what Start Early will be advocating for this legislative session. 

The Illinois Policy Team at Start Early is pleased to release our annual Illinois Legislative Agenda, a snapshot of the budget requests and legislative priorities for which Start Early will be advocating during the spring 2026 legislative session in the state.

With the new legislative session underway, our team is focused on moving forward funding requests and legislation that will support families and providers across our early childhood system.

Our goals for the year include:

• Increasing funding for the Early Intervention (EI) program, maternal and child home visiting programs, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), the Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG), the Smart Start Workforce Grant (SSWG), the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE), and the Early CHOICES initiative
• Supporting legislation to codify in law the framework for a statewide Universal Newborn Support Systems (UNSS) program
• Supporting legislation to authorize Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) to diagnosis autism spectrum disorder
• Supporting legislation to extend the timeline by which Early Intervention (EI) families may request an impartial hearing to pursue due process complaints from three months to two years
• Supporting legislation to create the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program
• Supporting legislation to create the Newborn Equity Support Transfers (NEST) program

On February 6, 2026, a federal court granted a preliminary injunction halting the federal funding freeze that threatened child care and essential family support programs in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York. 

The court’s order blocks the Administration for Children and Families from restricting access to Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) funding and requires the removal of unlawful barriers preventing states from collecting these funds. 

More than 1.3 million children and their families nationwide rely on publicly funded child care to support their development and well-being. When access to these funds is threatened, it destabilizes providers and jeopardizes the economic security of working families who depend on these essential supports. 

In Illinois, these funding streams help thousands of working families afford child care and support community-based providers. Even the threat of funding disruptions can create fear and instability in an already fragile child care system and ripple across other essential supports families rely on, including housing, nutrition and health services.

Child care is core to our economic infrastructure. When funding becomes unstable, providers face difficult decisions about staffing and capacity, and families face uncertainty about available supports that allow them to work. These disruptions affect employers, businesses and local and state economies. 

The court’s decision reinforces that federal agencies cannot unilaterally disrupt programs authorized and funded by Congress. States and communities depend on predictable, stable funding to serve children and families effectively. 

We are grateful to leaders and advocates in Illinois and partner states that took action to defend families, providers, and the rule of law. 

While this ruling provides important relief, continued vigilance is necessary. Families in Illinois and across the country deserve reliable, sustained support that reflects how essential these programs are to the healthy development of children and economic security of communities. 

During the first phase of IDEC’s child care licensing transformation plan, the Department spent months obtaining input from providers and families to better understand the major concerns within our licensing system. IDEC grouped the results from stakeholder engagement into 4 focus areas: background checks, exemptions, external communication and training and support for day care licensing representatives. Now that stakeholder engagement has wrapped up, IDEC is shifting its attention to concerns raised regarding the background check process and exemptions during phase 2 of the transformation work. Below we will explore these proposed changes.

Background Checks

• Linking background checks to individuals: Currently, background check results are tied to employers rather than the individual. This structure requires individuals to have a conditional offer of employment at a program site before they may begin the background check process. Furthermore, our current process also does not allow prospective staff to apply for employment at multiple sites before deciding which program would be the best fit for them. IDEC is proposing linking background check results to the individual applicant, which should provide prospective staff additional employment flexibility and allow them to begin the background check process earlier in their job search.
• IDEC to issue background check employment decisions: In our current system, a series of criminal offenses bar prospective employees from working with young children. However, aside from those offenses, directors have leeway to interpret any other offenses that appear on an applicant’s background check results and decide whether to offer employment to the applicant. Under the proposed system, IDEC will make a final determination on all offenses and ultimately issue clearances to work at a site to ensure consistency across the state.

Start Early applauds IDEC for taking these long-awaited steps to improve the functionality of our background check process. Yet, it remains unclear what steps the department will take to reduce the weeks-long delay in the processing of background checks. We ask the department to take a deeper look at ways to expedite and streamline background check processing and tracking, like creating an online portal, so prospective employees and directors are not left to wait several weeks for updates or results.

Exemptions

Providers have raised concerns that our current exemption process is vague and the administrative rule is convoluted. IDEC is proposing a different framework to think of licensing requirements on a spectrum, based on the level of agency oversight required by the program and whether Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) payments are accepted.

This initial proposal by the department would be a welcome change, considering that our current exemption structure is opaque and difficult to navigate. Creating various levels of exemptions seems like a positive change in bringing additional clarity to our licensing structure. Nonetheless, we do encourage IDEC to release additional details on this exemption structure and publish resource guides for each category, so programs can have a clear understanding of the requirements they must meet. This will be especially helpful for family, friend and neighbor providers who are likely not familiar with our child care licensing system.

As IDEC prepares to implement these proposed changes later this year, Start Early believes that these initiatives will improve licensing functions. However, we cannot lose sight of what we envision in the long-term to improve our child care licensing system. We encourage IDEC to consider what additional support and resources they can offer to reduce administrative burden, enhance program quality, and increase the number of slots across the state, especially infant-toddler slots. We look forward to the department unveiling further details on licensing redesign over the next 5 months.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about IDEC’s proposals as the new agency readies to launch or offer the department any feedback, click here for information on listening sessions, meetings, and workgroups.

Each year the Illinois General Assembly passes legislation that can have an impact on families, or the organizations in our communities providing early childhood or related supportive services to families. Start Early leads on some of these legislative changes, often in coalition with others, and in other cases we contribute our early childhood lens and expertise to support the efforts of another lead organization. The 2025 Legislative Summary provides a listing of those bills that became law in the spring 2025 & veto session that we thought would be relevant to families with young children and the field.  We hope that this is a resource you will download and share with colleagues and families alike. We are happy to provide additional information about any of these initiatives or connect you with other advocates where needed. 

After a tense negotiation between the Mayor’s Office and City Council, the City of Chicago has begun to enact a 2026 budget. This budget includes a continuation of the Mayor’s $7 million allocation to support compensation increases for early childhood educators, which reflects the hard work of providers and advocates, who lifted up the needs of the early childhood workforce during last year’s budget engagement process. Here is where each of Chicago’s early childhood coalition asks stand in the 2026 budget:  

ASK: $10 million increase for the Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) Children’s Services Division to:  

• Sustain 2025 wage increases for 3,000 early care and education providers
• Expand these wage increases to reach thousands of additional early childhood educators

RESULT: While the $7M investment in 2026 will sustain wage increases given to 3,000 educators in 2025, this budget commitment falls $3M short of the $10M ask that advocates approached the City with in July – which itself falls short of the true need, given that there are far more than 3,000 early childhood educators across Chicago and the vast majority of them are underpaid.  

ASK: $1 million investment to expand the Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship, allowing over 100 additional early educators to pursue degrees and enter the workforce.  

RESULT: The 2026 budget does not include an increase in funding for the Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship, which means the scholarship program will continue to receive far more applications than it can accommodate, leaving prospective teachers unable to enter a workforce that badly needs them to fill vacancies in early childhood programs across the city.  

ASK: $2 million restoration funding to the Chicago Department of Public Health’s Family Connects Chicago program, which experienced a $4.7 million funding cut in 2025. Family Connects provides postpartum nurse home visits to ensure birthing families get a healthy start.  

RESULT: Understanding that they would lose funding for this program during a difficult budget year, the Chicago Department of Public Health looked for efficiencies and alternative funding routes to sustain Family Connects Chicago programming in the five hospitals where it currently operates. While they will not receive the $2M that advocates asked for in 2026, CDPH will work toward Medicaid reimbursement for FCC nurse home visits and will rely on contributions from some participating hospitals. While a major scale-back of services will not happen, the long-term sustainability of this program and its ability to fulfill its mission to be a universal, rather than targeted, social service program remains obstructed.  

Regardless of zip code or family income, when welcoming a new baby, all parents and families could benefit from additional encouragement and support. That is why Start Early is working to build the necessary public infrastructure and funding systems to scale Universal Newborn Support Systems (UNSS) that provide free, voluntary short-term home visiting and referral services to every family at the birth of a new baby to make connections to the supportive services and resources they may need and want.  

Learn more about UNSS and read additional information. 

Start Early is inviting proposals to fund local planning activities to assess the feasibility and readiness of communities to implement a Universal Newborn Support System (UNSS). A required letter of interest and the full RFP are due in February; planning activities are anticipated to run from May through December 2026. This project is made possible through private funding. 

Application Documents

• Letter of Interest 
  • Download to work offline
• RFP Application 
  • Download to work offline
• Scoring Rubric
• FAQ

In September 2025, the Transition Advisory Council funding design workgroup shared a series of preliminary recommendations for how IDEC may approach redesigning funding for the early childhood system in Illinois. These recommendations, if adopted, would take effect in July of 2027. Here, Start Early provides suggestions for what the state might consider next. 

Alignment Recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Cluster early learning & care funding streams

We support the state’s goals of simplifying funding streams and decreasing the administrative burden that programs face, though questions remain about how this will be achieved.  

Our recommendations: 

• Allocate a designated portion of funds to infant and toddler services. 
• Provide clarification on how funding streams with different eligibility, use, and monitoring requirements will be aligned to ensure that programs do not lose flexibility. 
• Provide additional clarification on the role of Head Start in IDEC’s aligned funding plan. 
• Maintain flexibility to allow for the development of new program models in the future. 
• Develop a comprehensive plan for state or regional infrastructure to provide programs with supports such as health and I/ECMH consultation, pyramid model, and inclusion support. 

Recommendation 2: Cluster home visiting funding streams

We are supportive of combining Home Visiting (HV) funding and aligning administrative requirements, which advocates and the state funding commission have previously recommended.  

Our recommendations: 

• Maintain flexibility, ensuring that the restrictions of certain funding streams are not imposed on others. 
• Consolidate HV infrastructure supports (e.g. a single vendor for professional development, one for monitoring, etc.); ensure vendors have demonstrated HV expertise and prioritize continuity in effective vendors for system stability. 
• Encourage the use of models best designed to meet family needs, even if some models are more costly to implement.  
• Prioritize maximizing HV funding across all available sources, including Title IV-E (FFPSA) and Medicaid. 

Recommendation 3: Continue to fund early intervention and early childhood special education separately 

We agree with and support the state’s decision to continue to fund Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education separately from other programs. 

Our recommendations: 

• Explore the need for dedicated funding outside of ECSE and IDEA to support the inclusion of children with disabilities and developmental delays across all learning settings. 
• Significantly increase funding for Early Intervention. 

Distribution Recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Expand use of non-competitive grants or contracts for providers serving priority populations 

We support the state’s goals of both decreasing administrative burden and improving programs’ financial stability by expanding the use of non-competitive grants. 

Our recommendations: 

• Ensure that non-competitive grant allocations increase year over year, allowing programs the ability to maintain financial stability in the face of rising costs. 
• Provide clarification on how new programs will apply to receive funding under a non-competitive model, and the avenues available for existing grantees to request increased funding for additional slots. 
• Develop a plan to approach monitoring for long-term non-competitive grants, to ensure accountability. 
• Prioritize flexibility and develop support options available to programs to ensure that providers are able to address future challenges in a changing landscape.

Recommendation 2: Continue to use vouchers to maximize family choice 

While we recognize the flexibility that vouchers offer both parents and programs, we hope that the state will address longstanding concerns that families and providers have raised regarding their use. 

Our recommendations: 

• Ensure that payments are made in a timely manner. 
• Offset the instability programs experience that is inherently caused by attendance-based payments, or remove the attendance-based component altogether. 
• Increase reimbursement rates without relying on additional family contributions. 

Recommendation 3: Reserve use of competitive grants for short term or specialized funding 

We applaud the state’s willingness to maintain all distribution mechanisms, to account for future funding needs and unique scenarios. 

Our recommendation: 

• Ensure that competitive grant processes are streamlined and simplified to be inclusive of all providers, without creating an undue burden on small providers or community-based organizations. 

Adequacy Recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Define adequacy-based funding targets 

As the state develops funding targets, we encourage careful evaluation of existing assumptions and definitions of priority populations and adequacy to ensure that targets are reflective of current community needs.  

Our recommendations: 

• Account for programs that exist outside of state or federal funding structures, such as slots in private programs that affect saturation and regional needs.  
• Consider the true cost of care, paying special attention to variations in needs such as facilities and transportation, as well as provider ratios.  
• Consider the funding needed to ensure investment in technical assistance and coaching needed to build capacity, grow infrastructure, and strengthen quality across the system. 

Recommendation 2: Prioritize “next dollar in” 

We approve of the state’s plan to prioritize and address the greatest needs first, and we look forward to additional information about how these priorities will be determined, and the role of local and regional infrastructures in these decisions.  

Our recommendation: 

• Plan for how to consistently balance expansion with quality investments, ensuring that existing programs continue to receive needed support. 

With the passage of Public Act 103-0594 in June of 2024, work began to build the Illinois Department of Early Childhood. Since that time, under the leadership of Dr. Teresa Ramos (appointed in December, 2024), work has been underway to build a state agency, along with an ambitious process to examine the complex web of current early childhood programs, funding and standards as well as to try to understand what is most important to parents and providers across the state.  

July 1, 2026 represents an important milestone in this process when most early childhood programs are scheduled to transition from their legacy agencies — the IL Department of Human Services (Child Care Assistance Program, Early Intervention and home visiting programs); the IL State Board of Education (Early Childhood Block Grant – Preschool for All, Prevention Initiative); and the IL Department of Children and Family Services (day care licensing). 

Start Early has been a part of the early childhood landscape in Illinois for more than 40 years – having helped shape and grow Illinois’ early childhood programs like home visiting and doula services, the Early Childhood Block Grant and the unique Infant-Toddler Set-Aside, which has helped ensure that we have grown infant and toddler services alongside those for preschool-aged children. We have been in this work not only as a policy and advocacy organization, but importantly as an early childhood service provider and funder across the state. We also have the opportunity to work with our colleagues in Raising Illinois, the state’s infant-toddler coalition, to focus on issues most important to serving our expecting families, babies, toddlers and those who care for them. 

Illinois Action for Children, Latino Policy Forum and Start Early applaud new state protections for families, children and professionals in early childhood centers. The bill, HB 1312, passed in October and was signed into law today. Amid heightened immigration enforcement efforts, the new law is a critical step forward in ensuring that every young child in Illinois can learn and grow in a safe, welcoming environment.

Illinois’ early childhood system is strongest when young children, families and its professionals feel safe in programs they depend on each day. HB 1312 helps ensure that licensed child care centers remain trusted, stable spaces – especially during a time when heightened immigration enforcement has created fear, confusion and barriers to access for many families. 

Among the legislation’s requirements, programs must: 

• Adopt clear policies and plans for interacting with law enforcement conducting civil immigration enforcement, including reviewing warrants and subpoenas 
• Establish procedures for seeking parental consent before releasing personal records, reinforcing trust between families and providers 
• Maintain updated emergency contact documentation and safe drop-off and pick-up protocols, ensuring children are only released to designated caregivers
• Notify families of immigration enforcement activity occurring at a center, ensuring transparency during moments of heightened concern

The bill also:

• Prevents licensed child care programs from disclosing or threatening to disclose information about the actual or perceived citizenship or immigration status of a child or associated person, unless required by federal or state law
• Directs the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Illinois Department of Early Childhood (DEC) to offer accessible tools, including family preparedness plans, guardianship resources and information about constitutional rights

Together, these protections intend to help reassure families that they and their children will be safe enrolling and fully participating in early childhood programs – an essential priority for the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood. When families feel secure, children are better able to learn, grow and thrive.

IMPLEMENTATION MUST BEGIN IMMEDIATELY

Passing HB 1312 is only the first step. We urge action at every level to support swift and consistent implementation across the state.

To the Federal Government: Reinstate and expand “Sensitive Locations” policies prohibiting immigration enforcement in and around early learning and care settings. Federal legislation, such as H.R. 1061, would codify these protections and ensure families can access education and care without fear. 

To Governor Pritzker and Illinois State Agencies: Begin implementation of this new law without delay. State agencies must allocate resources, offer training and provide technical assistance so providers can build strong, trauma-informed procedures that both protect children and ensure compliance. Illinois has led the nation in expanding early childhood access, and ensuring safety and belonging will help us continue to demonstrate such leadership.

To Early Childhood Providers and Centers: We recognize the extraordinary care and thoughtfulness that early childhood programs already demonstrate every day. Many providers across Illinois have begun developing policies and practices to ensure that children, families and staff feel safe and supported. A number of existing resources – such as family preparedness templates, sample communication tools and guidance for responding to federal enforcement activity – may be helpful as programs consider how to strengthen their own procedures while sustaining family-centered environments.

For Parents, Caregivers & Families: Engage, prepare and plan ahead.

• Engage: Ask your center what procedures are in place to ensure safety for children and staff.
• Prepare: Update your emergency pick-up information and ensure the center has current contact numbers and a list of trusted adults.
• Plan Ahead: Talk with loved ones about who can pick up your child if needed, where important documents are stored and how to stay connected during emergencies.

A SHARED COMMITMENT

As organizations committed to supporting the well-being and health of families and young children, we celebrate HB 1312 as an affirmation of Illinois’ values. We look forward to working with Governor Pritzker, state agencies, local leaders and early childhood programs to support successful implementation and ensure that every child – regardless of background or immigration status – can access the safe, nurturing early care and education they deserve.

“Across the country, we are seeing how immigration enforcement can disrupt the stability young children rely on and create fear for families and educators. We also see the strength of early childhood programs as they continue to show up for children every day. Illinois’ action today affirms that every child and educator deserves to learn and work in a safe, welcoming environment. We hope this moment encourages state and federal leaders to follow Illinois’ lead and advance policies that protect our littlest ones and the people who care for them.”

Celena Sarillo, Executive Director – Illinois, Start Early

“Illinois has taken a historic step to safeguard the places where our youngest children learn and grow. These protections will only be as strong as their implementation, and we call on state partners to move quickly with training, resources, and hands-on support for providers. Families and educators are counting on all of us to ensure these policies are carried out with dignity, compassion and respect.” 

Linda Xóchitl Tortolero, President and CEO of the Latino Policy Forum 

“This bill signing comes at a critical time given recent immigration enforcement activities, and we applaud our Illinois lawmakers for taking this crucial step toward protecting our children, educators, and child care providers. Child care centers must be safe havens, not places of confusion, fear, or violence. Illinois Action for Children and our partners stand ready to support swift implementation of these protections as we maintain our focus on uplifting children and all who care for them.”

April Janney, CEO, Illinois Action for Children