By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Gov. JB Pritzker stopped in Rockford on Wednesday as part of a statewide tour to tout plans to increase state funding to improve early childhood education.
Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton joined local government and school leaders at Nashold Early Childhood Center to discuss the multi-year Smart Start Illinois plan. The plan begins with $250 million in state spending this year designed to increase access to preschool, raise wages for childcare providers, improve facilities and reach more vulnerable families with early support.
“Access to quality child care and early childhood education yields better results for children and parents alike,” Pritzker said in a statement.
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This year’s $250 million commitment goes toward:
- $75 million increase in grant money to help create more than 20,000 new pre-kindergarten opportunities for children
- $130 million for new contracts that will give child care workers a raise
- $40 million increase in funding for early intervention programs and to give providers of those programs a raise
- $5 million to expand the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Home Visiting Program so more families who want it can receive early support
“Our children and parents deserve the best, and the Smart Start Illinois plan is how we get there. It gives us the best return on investment of any government expenditure, and it sets our kids up for success in kindergarten, elementary school, and beyond — even yielding higher graduation rates,” Pritzker said. “From home visiting services from birth to age three, child care for infants as young as six weeks old, and pre-schools — Smart Start Illinois is a comprehensive plan to build one of the best early childhood systems in the nation.”
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Nashold Early Childhood Center was the final stop in Pritzker’s Smart Start tour. Nashold is part of Rockford students’ first experience with education, and it’s home to roughly 530 of the 2,500 Rockford Public Schools students enrolled in pre-school programs.
“Our historic investments in early childhood education and development address critical needs that will nurture children, support providers, and strengthen Illinois for generations to come,” Stratton said in a statement. “The Smart Start plan touches every level of early childhood development by improving access to quality care, providing more support to families, and increasing wages and growth opportunities for workers who teach and care for our little ones.”
Aside from Smart Start, the governor’s office noted these other investments in early childhood education:
- $100 million for early childhood providers to expand existing facilities and build new facilities
- $70 million for the Child Care Assistance Program
- $12 million in new funding for scholarships and apprenticeships to expand the child care workforce
- $1.6 million to launch the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a statewide literacy initiative to send free books to children from birth through age 5
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.