u/Makiya_Reports

Hey y’all, my name is Makiya and I’m a reporter with Chalkbeat Chicago. We cover education specifically in Chicago, but we also try to contextualize how things happening at the state level might impact the city. Today, the Illinois Department of Early Childhood launched today, which means most services impacting children under 5 are now under one roof rather than being split between three departments. 

This is a change for families across the state, but Chicago has its own complex early childhood landscape that might be uniquely impacted. I put together an explainer if you aren’t up-to-date with this change, as well as a Q&A with the head of the new agency. But this is just a starting point for learning about the department. Do any of y’all have questions about what this means for you? Hearing from community members helps inform my reporting! Also feel free to message me at mseminera@chalkbeat.org. 

Hey there, my name is Makiya and I’m a reporter with Chalkbeat Chicago. We cover education specifically in Chicago and beyond in Illinois. Today, a new state agency launched called the Department of Early Childhood, also known as IDEC, and it essentially consolidates most services that families with children under 5 use. That means childcare subsidies, preschool, early intervention and more are all under one roof now.

It’s been something in the works for several years, but that doesn’t mean everyone is in the know about it. Do y’all have thoughts or opinions on what this new agency means for Chicago? Is anything about the agency particularly confusing to you? Or are there improvements in the early childhood space that you’re hoping IDEC tackles? Feel free to hit me up through my email mseminera@chalkbeat.org if you don’t want to reply publicly. 

Hi y’all! My name is Makiya and I’m a reporter with Chalkbeat, an education news outlet. I’m specifically in Chalkbeat’s Chicago bureau, and I cover how the state and federal government impacts education in the city and more broadly in Illinois.

Today, we had a major development at the state level with the launch of the Illinois Department of Early Childhood. Before, early childhood services were split between three different state departments. Now, they’re all housed under one roof. I have an explainer I published this morning that gives you an overview of the new agency, as well as a Q&A with the department secretary if you need some context.

I’m curious what folks in the ECE field think of this change? I know some states already have a similar set-up, but I’m curious if any ECE professionals in those states experienced any problems during the agency’s transition process or first few years after being opened to the public? I also just welcome any insight on questions you might have as an expert in this field seeing this change in Illinois. Or if you’re from Illinois, I’d love to get your thoughts on how you’re navigating this!