EAST MOLINE, Ill. — Gov. JB Pritzker and Lieutenant Gov. Juliana Stratton stopped by Aldridge Learning Center in East Moline on Tuesday to discuss the Smart Start Illinois Plan.
The Illinois Quad Cities have received a $1 million investment from the Illinois Department of Human Services to assist area childcare providers in preparing for Smart Start Workforce Grants, which will be made available to providers beginning in fiscal year 2025.
“Smart Start’s first-in-the-nation, $130 million childcare workforce grants are providing a much-needed solution to stabilize and grow the childcare sector — allowing existing and new childcare providers to give even more families affordable, quality care,” Gov. JB Pritzker said. “But the impact doesn’t end there, and the wraparound services provided by Smart Start will make a major difference for Illinois’s youngest starting from birth.”
Early childhood care providers and local leaders joined the governors as they highlighted the program's three initiatives:
- Increasing funding to create 20,000 new preschool seats over four years and improve overall access and care quality
- Raising childcare worker wages to bring stability to the field and enhance programming
- Expanding access to home visiting and early intervention services for thousands of children and families
“It’s time to promise Illinois families that their children will not be left behind and that the people caring for our kids earn the wages they deserve for such an important job,” State Sen. Mike Halpin, D-Rock Island, said. “We are one step closer to ensuring every child will receive a high-quality education.”
So far, Pritzker said more than $145 million have been invested into 4,139 childcare programs statewide.
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