For child welfare professionals, building relationships with early childhood program staff and parents makes sense and is a critical element of the Strengthening Families approach. The teachers and other staff with whom young children spend their days have unique relationships and are a trusted resource for families. When child welfare professionals are able to partner with early childhood program staff---including them in their processes and decisions and vice versa---they can maximize their impact on the families that both are serving. In Illinois, all wards of the state that are ages 3 to 5 must be enrolled in a high quality early care and education program as part of their education service plan.
A goal of the Strengthening Families Illinois initiative is to support and promote collaboration between early childhood providers and caseworkers. Follow the links below to access resources from Strengthening Families Illinois that relate directly to your work.
- Need help finding a quality early care and education program?
- Connect to a Strengthening Families Illinois Learning Network to work with the early childhood programs that serve children in your care—or to find quality programs for those children
- Contact the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies for information on quality early care and education around the state
- If you’re in Chicago, click here to use the Early Childhood Program Locator
- Attend a Love Is Not Enough Partner Café where parents build the Protective Factors that keep their families strong. Click here to access the Love Is Not Enough Parent Cafe calendar
- Learn more about the Love Is Not Enough to Keep Your Family Strong Campaign on the protective factors
- Check out the lastest E-Update or browse old editions
- Visit our on-line library of tools for additional resources on Strengthening Families Illinois for child welfare professionals and other audiences