Community-Based Planning for Expansion
As part of the Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B5) and in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, Illinois Action for Children (IAFC) has been tasked with the Community-Based Planning for Expansion (CBP) project designed to increase support for community systems and to community-level applicants for state funding. Recognizing that there are a number of barriers to applying for state funding as well as that increased state funding is being dedicated to early childhood, this is a critical time for community-level expansion planning. CBP provides underserved communities with systems knowledge, demographic data, and planning capacity to take advantage of projected increases in state Early Childhood Block Grant (ECBG) and child care funding.
Communities will receive:
- Funding towards supporting the community-based planning process
- Capacity-building trainings provided to community leaders on topics such as funding streams, layered funding, priority populations, program models, facilities, and more
- Facilitated planning support that result in community plans for service expansion
- Increased systems knowledge, demographic data, and planning capacity
The goal of the three-year project is to support 15 communities with large slot gaps to compete successfully for early childhood care and education funding and expand services.
For more information on the CBP Project, please contact Brittain Ayres at brittain.ayres@actforchildren.org.