Smart Start Illinois is a multi-year plan to provide every child with access to preschool, increase funding to child care providers to raise wages and quality and reach more vulnerable families with early support. Smart Start Illinois is a step towards making Illinois the best place to raise children with a clear ongoing commitment to children, families, teachers, and childcare providers. The State Fiscal Year 2024 (SFY24) Smart Start Illinois investments to the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Early Childhood (IDHS-DEC) includes
Governor Pritzker’s proposal commits to continued investments in Illinois’ Home Visiting, Child Care, and Early Intervention programs, allowing IDHS-DEC to use these funds towards long-term system changes. If you would like to learn more about Smart Start Child Care, visit the pdf Smart Start FAQ (628 KB) . ( pdf Smart Start FAQ - Spanish (631 KB) )
Smart Start Stakeholder Input
Having feedback and input from those working in early childhood education and care is a priority as the state develops Smart Start Illinois. An ad-hoc committee of the IDHS-DEC Child Care Advisory Council began meeting in November 2022. This committee focuses on Smart Start Child Care, and providing insight, feedback, and raises questions and thoughts as the state develops a plan for this work. This committee is made up of individuals that work in child care, and agencies that support child care. Below are the presentations that are provided at each ad-hoc committee meeting.
pdf
November 2022
(791 KB)
pdf
December 2022
(1.56 MB)
pdf
January 2023
(663 KB)
pdf
February 2023
(976 KB)
pdf
April 2023
(1.97 MB)
pdf
June 2023
(2.02 MB)
pdf
August 2023
(1.09 MB)
pdf
September 2023
(1.09 MB)
pdf
October 2023
(1.01 MB)
pdf
November 2023
(1002 KB)
document
December 2023
(3.83 MB)
document
February 2024
(3.95 MB)
pdf
March 2024
(511 KB)
It also provides standards, guidelines, resources and supports to help you make sensible changes that lead to better quality outcomes for children.