A Central Illinois local branch of a statewide family group is filling the unique gaps in childcare by sharing critical resources with parents.
Birth to Five Illinois helps families with children ages birth to 5 get equal treatment no matter their race, language or social economic background.
Kari Clark is the council manager for Region 48, the Peoria County branch. She said the first five years of a child’s life are important because so much development happens during that time.
“Ultimately, investing in services now when they’re young can save money overall," Clark said.
Clark manages two dedicated staff members. They oversee an action council, comprised of community members and parent and early childhood representatives. It meets monthly to discuss early childhood gaps and needs. It determines local actions that can fill those gaps.
The region’s family and community engagement specialist oversees a family council that functions much the same way. It is comprised of families and caregivers of children younger than 8.
Clark and her team also meet and collaborate with the medical community, business leaders and anyone affected by early childhood programming.
Every community looks different and has its own needs, Clark said. Peoria County needs more childcare programming during nontraditional work hours and a simpler application process for child programs and services.
Another local issue is a shortage of early intervention providers. It can create a waitlist for certain early intervention services.
Just like communities being different across the state, families are different across communities.
“We know that each family has their own unique struggles, and the goal is to meet that family where they are and learn about their experience," Clark said. "That might include a foster parent that has foster children, because their experience accessing services and programs might look very different than a two-parent household.”
Birth to Five Illinois also tries to fill the behavioral care gap. Clark said the age range is difficult to diagnose, and many practitioners are hesitant to pinpoint something specific, but parents are ultimately looking for answers for behavioral issues or developmental delays.
“Sometimes at that age, behavioral issues may be caused by something that’s underlying and undiagnosed," Clark said. "For instance, a child might have a communication disorder, and the communication disorder leads to behavior issues because they’re trying to communicate in their way.
"Really, the important thing is finding parents support and answers so they can work with their child and not experience burnout, not experience other things that cause undue stress for their families.”
When parents lack childcare but still need to go to work, they might be forced to place the child with a friend or family member who isn’t very safe, said Clark. There is also an economic impact when a parent cannot work, and it affects the employer and the overall workforce.
Birth to Five factors in someone’s race, culture, language or anything else that sets them apart. It aims to give every family an equally beneficial experience.
Clark said all families have an experience to share. She and her team collect those experiences and bring them back to Birth to Five’s councils, to schools and elected officials. This way they can point out specific problems of certain families.
“Just talking about those experiences that families are facing, regardless of that, really puts it back on the forefront and can lead to conversation about what can be done to improve that," Clark said.
One example is parents can be afraid of child developmental screenings. They do not want a label, or they may not understand a screening is not a diagnosis. Clark’s team was able to help by creating an informational flyer explaining screenings.
Parents frequently do not know where to find resources, Clark said. Birth to Five's regional Facebook group helps. It has a community events post it pins every month. It is full of resources, family-friendly events and screening opportunities. Clark wants to take advantage of multimedia, too.
“We would love to feature videos of families telling their story, but people need to be willing to share their story first," Clark said.
Clark encourages people to join the action or family councils if they want to get involved with Birth to Five Illinois. The councils usually recruit during the summer for a new council year.
Families and community members, whether they have kids or not, can also help by sharing their stories, Clark said.
“At the forefront, that is really what we are about is we want to hear what families have to say when they are accessing early childhood programs and services," said Clark. "That is the biggest thing that families can do to get involved with very little effort is to share their story through our website.”
