AFC Policy Platform - Illinois Action for Children

Dear FriendAction for Children began in 1969 as theDay Care Crisis Council, and wasmost recently known as the Day CareAction Council of Illinois. From itsorigin, the agency advocated for qualityimprovements in child care centers, andsupported the growing numbers of womenentering the workforce.35 years later, while many things havechanged, our commitment to accessiblehigh quality child care and early educationhas not. As Action for Children, webelieve that good public policy must beinformed and shaped by those directlyaffected. This first means working withparents and child care professionals toarrive at our positions. Then we worktogether to educate and inform law andpolicy makers to make a difference inthe lives of families and their children.And we are making a difference. Today,Action for Children has grassrootsmembers in every Illinois state senatedistrict. Our members are committedand most importantly, they areeffective. We have celebrated manyaccomplishments including:• Passing HB294 which updated incomeeligibility for the IDHS Child CareAssistance program to 50% of thecurrent State Median Income (SMI) andsecuring funding to pay for the increase;• Maintaining the child care budget ata time when it was facing $60 millionin cuts;• Registering and encouraging thousandsof parents and others who care aboutchildren and families to vote; and• Creating the Great START program toprovide direct salary enhancementsto child care professionals based oneducation and training in the field ofEarly Care and Education.While significant, these victories areonly the beginning of our work. Workingfamilies still struggle to find high quality,accessible and affordable care for theirchildren, and the early care and educationprofession suffers from a lack of resourcesnecessary to raise quality.The pages that follow outline ourstatewide policy agenda that will addressthese issues. We urge you to read thisbooklet, contact us for more information,and most importantly, join or renew yourmembership to Action for Children andpartner with us in this important work.Best wishes,Maria WhelanPresident / CEOSessy NymanVice president, Public Policy andGovernment Relations