Illinois Resources

STARNET (Support and Technical Assistance Regionally)

The STARNET system serves young children, families and communities in Illinois working to develop more effective partnerships and linkages among families, professionals and systems. STARNET provides training and technical assistance to early childhood special education preschool staff and families of young children.

New video resource on the benefits of inclusive education in preschool from STAR NET in collaboration with Early CHOICES and the great teams in Urbana SD #116 & St. Charles SD 303.

Gateways to Opportunity

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Gateways to Opportunity is a statewide professional development support system designed to provide guidance, encouragement, and recognition to individuals and programs serving children, youth, and families.  The Statewide Online Training Calendar lists trainings that have been Registry-approved as well as trainings offered through the states’ Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) Agencies.

Early Childhood Professional Learning (ECPL)

Supporting best practice in Early Childhood education with free professional development workshops and webinars, resources, and information that promotes high quality outcomes for young children and their families. ECPL invites you to explore professional learning opportunities and resources for the Illinois Early Childhood workforce, especially those working in state funded programs. These offerings reflect the latest evidence based practices in Early Childhood education and the latest adult learning theories

ExceleRate Illinois

ExceleRate Illinois is a statewide quality rating and improvement system designed to make continuous quality improvement an everyday priority among early learning providers. The program establishes standards for helping infants, toddlers and preschool age children develop intellectually, physically, socially and emotionally. It provides a framework for early learning professionals to identify opportunities for improvement, increase their skills and take steps to make positive changes.

Illinois Early Learning Project

The Illinois Early Learning Project Web site is a source of evidence-based, reliable information on early care and education for parents, caregivers, and teachers of young children in Illinois.

Heartland Equity and Inclusion Project (HEIP)

The Heartland Equity and Inclusion Project (HEIP) is a four-year project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education. HEIP is designed to ensure paraprofessionals have the knowledge, skills and dispositions required to support the diverse development and learning needs of young children and their families in high-quality, inclusive classroom communities.

Partner Plan Act

Understanding IL Early Childhood System

The early childhood system is complex – comprising of different programs and funding streams.  Sometimes, it may be hard to understand the early childhood system and how to best serve young children and families in Illinois.  Through the generous support of the Boeing Company, Illinois Action for Children produced a sewries of eight videos that features a different part of the early childhood system. The videos are intended to help individuals that work with families and young children directly to understand how they can best make referrals and connect them to helpful services.