Erikson Institute Policy and Leadership

Our Executive Fellows program launches today. Its goal is to give leaders the science and tools to increase investments across Illinois.

Meet Asia Canady and Candis Castillo. Read more: https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Today is the day! Our Executive Fellows program launches this evening with the goal of giving leaders the science + tools to increase investments across Illinois.

Meet Dominic Tocci and Cory Gold. Read more: https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Our Executive Fellows program launches today, giving leaders the science to increase investments in Illinois.

Meet Dr. Gina Lathan, Dr. Bonita Carr, Dr. Shreepada Tripathy, and Dr. Marcus Alexander. Read more: https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Our Executive Fellows program launches tomorrow! It gives leaders the science + tools to increase investments across Illinois.

Meet Elizabeth Ojeda-Jimenez and Mayor Nathaniel George Booker. Read more: https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Our Executive Fellows program launches tomorrow! It gives leaders the science + tools to increase investments across Illinois.

Meet Judge Lisa Michelle Taylor and Jennifer Mason. Read more: https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Our Executive Fellows program launches tomorrow! It gives leaders the science + tools to increase investments across Illinois.

Meet Sean Park, Mary Joly Stein, Marcus Johnson and Molly Cullum. Read more: https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Our Executive Fellows program, which launches this week, gives Illinois leaders the science and tools to protect and increase investments in early childhood across the state.

Please meet Denise Barreto and Karen G. Foley. You can read their bio at https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Our Executive Fellows program, which launches this week, gives Illinois leaders the science and tools to protect and increase investments in early childhood across the state.

Please meet Rep. Dagmara Avelar, Robert Vickery, Lindsey LaPoint and Lauren Barone. You can read their bio at https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

Erikson’s Policy and Leadership staff is prepping for this week’s launch of the Executive Fellows cohort! The program gives Illinois leaders the science and the tools to protect and increase investments in early childhood across the state.

Please meet Sen. Adriane Johnson and Samantha Smylie. You can read their bio at https://ow.ly/8uVt50SRmfR.

🥳 Congratulations to the 2023-2024 Barbara Bowman Leadership Fellows cohort on graduating from the 10-month program and successfully pitching your policy ideas to a room full of 80+ stakeholders. If you missed the Policy Remix event, read up on their recommendations here: https://ow.ly/A54r50SMGgY

📢 NEWS FLASH: 25 Illinois leaders selected for Erikson Institute's Executive Fellows Program.

Our children and families need systems that support their well-being and this program is designed to do just that. By elevating the science of early childhood development to top decision-makers who influence policy, determine resource allocations, they can help shape the educational experience of young children.

Read the Press Release:

Erikson's Executive Fellows Program Aims to Change Systems | Erikson Institute Erikson Institute is proud to announce the sixth cohort of its Executive Fellows program.

After much advocacy with our partner advocates, we are excited to have a new Department of Early Childhood in Illinois.

Erikson joined with other early childhood advocates today, as Governor JB Pritzker signed the law establishing the Illinois Department of Early Childhood—a unified agency that will coordinate all services for young children, their families and the providers who serve them.

Dismantling the barriers created by historic, racist practices remains challenging work. Our focus is on working collectively with partners committed to changing the flaws in our systems and advocating for investment in Black communities, prioritizing Quality, Access, and Equity (QAE— lovingly pronounced "kway").

🚨Early Childhood Investments in Illinois (FY25): "Erikson will amplify our advocacy for initiatives that ensure better support, compensation, and professional development opportunities are available to the workforce and encourage legislators to join us in having conversations for the coming fiscal year."

General Assembly Passes Budget and Bills to Support Early Care and Education | Erikson Institute The Illinois General Assembly passed a budget that sustains and, in some cases, increases investment in early childhood programming and services.

Curious about efforts to secure supports and services in Illinois for babies and their parents? Check out our partners, Raising Illinois, this Thursday! 👇🏽

Personal Information - Raising Our Voices: Shaping Tomorrow

“We all need to be involved [in policy]."

Veronica Cortez, Erikson’s Associate Director of Policy, explains a little bit about our work in the Policy and Leadership Department.

Mission Moment – May 2024

NOW IS THE TIME! Send a message to your legislator today! https://bit.ly/3vsNSAk

The Illinois General Assembly has only 1 week left to pass a FY25 budget that goes ALL IN for early childhood education and care. Repost to let everyone know that you are !

What are we asking for?
- 298 M for investments
- 13.2 M for the
- $40 M additional for Early Intervention
- $60 M for ECACE scholarships

Press Play 🎧⏯️

Our podcast, Get on the Early Childhood Bus, is one place we are . Dive into the trending headlines and hot topics to understand how children and their rights are being centered: https://linktr.ee/GOTECB

UNESCO: What does culture mean to you?
Us: Cultural diversity is deeply valued and feeds our collective growth as a society.

Today is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue & Development! UNESCO we loved this question!

21 May is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue & Development! We may speak different languages or come from various places, but one thing is clear: when we preserve , we preserve what makes us—us. What does culture mean to you? Share with us in the comments and discover more about humanity’s rich tapestry of languages, traditions, and backgrounds: https://on.unesco.org/3PqqJUg

Email your legislators now and urge them to go ALL IN for ECEC by supporting investment into the ! https://bit.ly/3vsNSAk

As early childhood services are currently split among 3 agencies, uniting programs under the Department of Early Childhood will make access to services simpler, better, and fairer for families with young children.

$13.2 million is needed in start-up costs to begin operations for the new agency and ensuring community and advocacy groups are involved in the planning of this new agency.

May is Jewish American Heritage Month and Erikson Institute is happy to celebrate the impact and accomplishments of Jewish Americans. Learn more about this month and find resources here: https://www.jewishheritagemonth.gov/

Join WTV in the call to go ALL IN for EI services and for the General Assembly to approve at least a $40 M increase in EI!

Thousands of Illinois families are still waiting for EI services, and these delays are directly tied to the ongoing workforce crisis. The Governor’s proposed $6 million increase is not enough to ensure equitable access to the life-changing developmental services and supports that EI provides.

Learn more about our funding ask for EI here - https://bit.ly/3vsNSAk

As federal funding dollars expire for ECACE in June 2024, it is vital that IL goes ALL IN and invests $60 million to ensure scholarships for current students continue. Take action today- https://bit.ly/3vsNSAk

To date, about 3,900 ECACE scholarships have been awarded to students pursuing higher degrees in early childhood in over 95% of IL counties. Learn more about our ECACE funding here- https://tinyurl.com/mrnabkht

Early Childhood Advocacy Day 2024 ✅

Our entire Erikson Institute Policy and Leadership team went down to Springfield with early childhood advocates from across the state to let our legislators know that we need to support or children and the services they need NOW!

Take action now and tell your legislator to go ! https://bit.ly/3vsNSAk

IL families count on services to meet the needs of their children. We 👏 need 👏you 👏 to go ALL IN for early childhood and make sure early childhood programs are sufficiently funded across the board in FY25!

We see health equity as a fundamental part of our work. On , we are recognizing the work accomplished during our Early Childhood Leadership Academy Fellows Summit to make Illinois a place where health rights are available to all.

Click on the link to see how you can get involved: https://ow.ly/Bqjx50R9wRl

Today is National Social Worker Day! Social work and policy go hand in hand. Hear from some of the social workers on our team about how our work in policy connects to social work.

For International Women's Day, our team is celebrating the generations of women who have cared for our youngest learners.

The early care and education system has roots that date all the way back to slavery and today 49% of our Illinois early childhood workforce are Black and Brown. Listen to the 1,800 Days podcast to learn more about the roots of our workforce: https://www.erikson.edu/podcast/

We love hearing stories from our alumni on how Erikson Institute's Executive Fellows program has made an impact on their work. Our fellows are across Illinois. Hear directly from them on what they have been up to since completing the program:

Executive Fellows Program Impact Executive Fellows share how the program has impacted their work in supporting children and families. Dr. Vidhya Prakash, chief medical officer, associate dea...