Delayed State Payments Threaten Illinois Early Childhood Programs
February 11, 2010Programs serving vulnerable infants, toddlers, and preschoolers across Illinois, still reeling from last year's 10 percent state budget cuts, are again facing disaster as months-long delays in payments from the state threaten their ability to continue offering services.
As state funding has been withheld, some agencies have been forced to close their doors. Hundreds of low-income parents are left without the home visiting and early learning programs they depended on to prepare their young children for school.
Programs that have been affected by the delayed payments include:
- Community Unit School District 300, Carpentersville. The payment delays forced the district to consider eliminating transportation for Preschool for All students. (Elgin Courier News, Feb. 10, 2010)
- Effingham School District Unit 40, Effingham. School officials proposed cutting the district's preschool program back to serving only at-risk students because of the state's inability to pay. (Effingham Daily News, Feb 5, 2010)
- Schools eye bottom line as revenue dips. Woodstock District 200, Woodstock. Because the state owes the district $1 million for its preschool program, the district is considering eliminating the preschool program. (Northwest Herald, Jan. 31, 2010)
- Schools brace for rough budget-planning. Williamson County Early Childhood Cooperative. The state owes the agency $1.4 million for its preschool program. Because of last year's budget cuts, the Williamson County Early Childhood Co-op closed one classroom and serves 40 fewer children. (The Daily Republican, Jan. 28, 2010)
- 'We've ridden those waves before'. Todd Early Childhood Center, Aurora. Last year's budget cuts forced the center to scale back, serving 320 children instead of 420. The West Aurora School District estimates that 1,120 children are eligible for the preschool program. (Fox Valley Villages Sun, Jan. 26, 2010)
- Unit 4 BOE eyeing cuts. Central Unit 4 School District, Watseka. The school district hasn't received any early childhood funding and is contemplating cuts to the program. (Watseka Times Republic, Jan. 26, 2010)
- Sandwich schools detail state's IOUs. Sandwich School District, Sandwich. The state owes the school district $103,782 from the Early Childhood Block Grant to fund preschool programs. (Aurora Beacon News, Jan. 21, 2010)
- Monk out as Dist. 1 eliminates position in austerity move Coal City Early Childhood Center, Coal City. The school board voted to eliminate the position of the center's principal at the end of the school year to save on administrative costs. (Morris Daily Herald, Jan. 21, 2010)
- Schools say state has let them down. Alton Early Childhood Program, Alton. The school district has been paying for early childhood programs since the beginning of the school year because no state funding has been received. (The Telegraph, Jan. 14, 2010)
- Vermillion County Health Department, Danville. Closed its Healthy Families Illinois home visiting program. (The News-Gazette, Jan. 5, 2010)
- Early Learning Center, Malone. The preschool program is owed $67,000 by the state. (KFVS-TV, Dec. 20, 2009)
- Education Services Network, Grundy and Will Counties. The parent education program that served 125 families was closed and seven staff members were laid off. (Morris Daily Herald, Dec. 16, 2009)
- Through a Child's Eyes, Cicero. The preschool serving 400 children planned to close Dec. 18. (CBS 2 Chicago, Dec.5)
Early childhood programs prepare children for success in kindergarten and beyond. Voluntary home visiting programs are proven to increase children's literacy and high school graduation rates. The state's delayed payments caused the closure of the only home visiting programs in Vermillion County, which has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the state.
The Ounce of Prevention Fund believes Illinois should fully fund early childhood programs that help vulnerable children and families break the cycle of poverty. The Ounce and other members of the Responsible Budget Coalition are calling on state leaders to implement comprehensive tax reform so that Illinois can fulfill its financial obligations to all education and human services programs. The Responsible Budget Coalition argues that this fiscal crisis, brought on by a long-standing structural budget deficit and an economic downturn, cannot be solved without significant new revenue.
Fully funding early childhood programs will save taxpayers money in the long run. Investments in early childhood programs are proven to reduce onerous costs for often-preventable expenses, such as special education, crime, and public assistance. Learn more about the benefits of early childhood education.
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If you work for an early childhood program that is suffering from delayed payments, please write a letter to the editor about how your program and families are suffering.
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