Illinois Action for Children
Illinois Action for Children proudly works to create systems of early care and education that help strengthen families and communities. Their outreach and work with low-income, hard-to-reach families has lead them to research and implement innovative and highly-effective programs and advocacy to ensure that all children in Illinois have access to high-quality opportunities, and that parents are supported in their goals of economic self-sufficiency and stability.
To that end IAFC works to reach this goal by partnering with four agencies to deliver training and resources to child care providers working in homes and centers across Cook County. Community partners are located strategically across Cook County to meet the child care providers in the where they live and work. Good Shepherd Center currently serves as the Community Partner Serving South/ Southwest Suburban Cook County. The other Community Partner agencies are, Children’s Home and Aid serving Far North Chicago and North Suburban Cook County, Carole Robertson Center for Learning serving West and Central Chicago and West suburban Cook County and Centers for New Horizons serving South Chicago.
Illinois Action for Children’s program areas include public policy and advocacy, child care supports, early childhood education, parent engagement and community building and organizing. They also administer the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) for Cook County, helping more than 50,000 families pay for child care each month.
Illinois Action for Children’s broad approach to supporting children, families and communities is a proven and effective means to address overarching issues of endemic poverty, which are the root cause of the educational failure of America’s poorest children.
Illinois Action for Children’s Mission statement states:
Illinois Action for Children is a catalyst for organizing, developing and supporting strong families and powerful communities where children matter most.
