Careers in Early Care & Education

Early care and education practitioners work in a variety of programs and settings in Illinois. Some typical settings, programs, and roles are listed below. Links to information about employment opportunities and salary levels are provided in some of the descriptions. Additional resources are available under Career Opportunities and Job Links.

We work hard to keep the following information up to date, but the early care and education landscape in Illinois is constantly changing. If you notice an error or omission, please let us know.

Child Care Centers
Child care centers provide care and education for groups of children in a range of settings outside the home. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) licenses child care programs to insure that health, safety, space, and staffing requirements are met. Child care center programs typically offer full-day and part-day programs. Some child care centers, including those affiliated with churches, public schools, hospitals, and universities, are not required to be licensed by DCFS. For more information on state licensing regulations for child care centers, visit http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/docs/407.doc.

Child Care Resource and Referral
Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) CCR&Rs are community organizations supported by local and state funds that provide child care referrals, offer consumer education to parents regarding high-quality child care, administer child care subsidies for eligible families, track child care supply and demand, provide training and technical assistance to early childhood practitioners, work with communities to assess community child care needs, and recruit new child care providers. For more information on CCR&Rs, visit http://www.inccrra.org/parentsandpublic.aspx?id=407.

Early Childhood Higher Education
Accredited colleges and universities offer coursework and degree programs in early childhood fields of study. For more information on early childhood higher education, visit the Higher Education Directory on this Web site.

Early Childhood Special Education
Early childhood special education services are provided in the range of settings listed under Child Care Center and Family Child Care above. In all states, educating 3- to 5-year-old children with disabilities is the responsibility of the state education agency and the local schools. At the infant-toddler level, the lead agency for early intervention is selected by the Governor. In Illinois, the lead agency for the infant-toddler program is the Department of Human Services, with participation from other state agencies, including the Illinois State Board of Education.

Early Intervention
Early Intervention is a family-centered statewide program of services and supports for infants and toddlers under 3 years of age who have disabilities or developmental delays, or who are at risk for developmental delays. Early Intervention Services are provided to assist eligible children in the development of basic developmental skills. Early-childhood-related practitioners in this program include developmental therapists and parent liaisons. Qualifications can be found at: http://www.wiu.edu/ProviderConnections/.

Family Child Care
Family child care is provided in a home other than the child’s own home. The three types of family child care programs in Illinois are license-exempt homes, licensed homes, and group homes. The number and ages of children cared for as well as staffing and space requirements vary with each. For more information on family child care regulations, visit http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/docs/406.doc and http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/docs/408.doc.

Head Start/Early Head Start
Head Start and Early Head Start are federally funded, comprehensive child development programs that serve pregnant women and children from birth to age 5 and their families. Head Start programs have the overall goal of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families. For more information on employment opportunities and qualifications for employment in Head Start and Early Head Start, go to http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/hsb. (Click on "Frequent Questions" on the left sidebar menu once you arrive at the site.)

Healthy Families Illinois, Parents Too Soon
Programs Healthy Families Illinois, and Parents Too Soon programs serve new and expectant teen parents to help them develop nurturing relationships with their children, reduce the rate of subsequent pregnancy, improve the health and emotional development of the teen, enhance self-sufficiency, and promote healthy growth and development of the children of teen parents. For more information on these services, which are provided through community-based sites around the state, go to http://www.dhs.state.il.us/chp/ofh/CAH/HealthyFam.asp and http://www.dhs.state.il.us/chp/ofh/CAH/ParentsTooSoon.asp.

Hospitals and Other Health Care Settings
Hospitals and other health care settings, including pediatric physician and dental offices, outpatient clinics, counseling clinics, and other environments that include a pediatric population, often employ child life specialists to help children and their families understand and manage challenging life events and stressful health care experiences. According to an American Academy of Pediatrics Child Care policy statement, the credentials of a certified child life specialist include at least a bachelor's degree in child development and the completion of a child life internship. Child life specialists often develop specific areas of expertise related to the patient population (e.g., infants, oncology patients, critically ill children) that they serve. Information about the child life profession and certification of child life specialists is available from the Child Life Council, Inc. Information about child life specialist salaries in Illinois is also available.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) provides a range of child welfare services in Illinois. DCFS is responsible for setting standards and licensing day care centers, homes, group homes, and day care agencies in the state. The Department also purchases day care services for individual children. DCFS provides Protective Service Day Care to children in "indicated" reports of child abuse or neglect and Family Maintenance Day Care services to high-risk families whose children are in open DCFS cases. Maintenance Day Care services are used to prevent and reduce parental stress that may lead to child abuse or neglect. For more information, go to http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/FAQ/faq_faq_employ.shtml.

Illinois Department of Human Services
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is Illinois' largest agency. DHS serves Illinois citizens through seven categories of programs: (1) alcoholism and substance abuse treatment and prevention services; (2) developmental disabilities; (3) health services for pregnant women and mothers, infants, children, and adolescents; (4) prevention services for domestic violence and at-risk youth; (5) mental health; (6) rehabilitation services; and (7) welfare programs, including Child Care, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Food Stamps.

Illinois State Board of Education
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) provides leadership, advocacy, and support for the work of school districts, policy makers, and citizens in Illinois. The Early Childhood Education Division of ISBE develops and provides support for the Illinois Early Learning Standards and their use in early childhood programs, and for programs that focus on children from birth to 8 years old, early intervention for at-risk students, prekindergarten programs, early literacy, and partnerships among schools, communities, and service providers. The Special Education Department of ISBE provides programs and services for students with specialized educational needs. For more information, go to http://www.recruitillinois.net/ and http://www.isbe.state.il.us/research/pdfs/teacher_salary.pdf.

In-Home Child Care
Care in the child’s own home is not regulated by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Kindergarten – Grade 3
Those who wish to teach in Illinois public schools must have a valid teaching certificate from the Illinois State Board of Education. More than 50 Illinois colleges and universities prepare teachers and administrators. Comparable teaching certificates from other states may be submitted for a provisional Illinois teaching certificate. Applicants with a bachelor’s degree from a recognized teacher education institution may also qualify for a substitute-teaching certificate. For more information, visit http://www.isbe.net/certification/ and http://www.isbe.net/profprep/.

Prekindergarten at Risk
These state-funded programs provide preschool education programs specifically meant to serve children identified as being at risk for academic failure. State-funded prekindergarten programs are typically found in public school settings but can also be housed in Head Start agencies and other child care community based programs. For more information, go to http://www.isbe.net/certification/default.htm.

Prevention Initiative/Parent Training
The Prevention Initiative serves families with children birth to 3, and the Model Early Childhood Parental Training Initiative serves families with children birth to 5. These initiatives are part of the state’s Early Childhood Block Grant program targeting children who are at risk for school failure.

School Age Child Care
School-age child care programs serve school-age children, ages 5-12, before or after school, during vacations, or during summer break. Programs may be housed in school settings, park district buildings, YMCA/YWCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other community settings. For more information, go to http://www.ianetwork.org/SA-Ycredential.htm.