Influencing Systems Change

The Ounce does not champion a single program but a comprehensive early childhood system that will improve the quality of programs, policies, and services in Illinois, and make these programs more accessible to the families who need them most.  Helping children receive the best possible start in life requires a coordinated system that families can navigate and that allows them to get information and help in a timely manner.  This means offering high-quality services for families and high-quality training for early childhood practitioners.  These steps ensure that young children’s often complex developmental needs are met, and so parents feel supported.

To create a comprehensive and efficient early childhood system, we work with government agencies, parents, service providers, advocates, philanthropists, business and civic leaders, and others to identify the services families need.  We develop strategies to overcome existing gaps and barriers, to promote better coordination of services, and to address training and workforce development issues.  We also seek to make funding streams, which often have competing rules and regulations, work in tandem so that services are delivered efficiently.

Three successful systems-change initiatives are the Illinois Early Learning Council, co-chaired by Ounce president Harriet Meyer, the Birth to Five Project, which the Ounce first convened in 1999, and the multi-state Build Initiative which the Ounce joined in 2003.

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