University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign

Raising Illinois Offers Resources to Support Infants, Toddlers, and Families

Published: July 6, 2023

Raising Illinois is a coalition of diverse individuals and organizations across Illinois committed to supporting infant and toddlers and the communities in which they live. Recently, they have added a community conversation toolkit to their resource page.

Raising Illinois recently added a community conversation toolkit and action center to their website.

The community conversation toolkit is designed to assist community members plan discussions to better understand the local needs of infants, toddlers, and their families and foster a supportive community. 

In addition to the toolkit, Raising Illinois' resource page offers other useful items. These include coalition reflections on the ISBE FY24 Early Childhood Block Grant RFP process and a Spring 2023 legislative wrap-up.

The action center lists actions that early childhood providers, policy professionals, legislators, parents and community members can take to support early childhood initiatives in their area.  

Raising Illinois is a coalition composed of diverse individuals and organizations from across Illinois who are committed to supporting infants, toddlers, and their families. They are part of a national movement of 20 states and communities funded by the Pritzker Children’s Initiative to amplify the voices and experiences of new families and early learning and care providers. Start Early (formerly the Ounce of Prevention Fund) leads strategic, comprehensive management of Raising Illinois and its policy groups. 

Working in collaboration with IECAM, Raising Illinois monitors the progress toward achieving their coalition goals by tracking current infant and toddler service data and comparing it with the targets set for 2025.