Welcome to ILDOCC.
We represent childcare center Directors and Owners currently working in the field by advocating for adequate funding, improvements in DCFS licensing regulations, comprehensive policy making, and solutions for workforce issues that positively impact the quality of care provided by childcare centers operating in the State of Illinois. ILDOCC has partnered with members of the Illinois General Assembly who are ready to begin correcting the harms caused by decades of misguided education policy and ensure that our voices are heard in any discussion regarding the care and education of Illinois' children.
ILDOCC is a Non-Profit Organization comprised of Directors and Owners of Childcare Centers working in Illinois
BREAKING: Read ILDOCC President Sarah Stoliker's official statement on Gov. Pritzker's Covid order for Childcare Centers:
"...To be clear, our industry is not opposed to public health measures that help bring this pandemic to an end. But it is ironic that the administration would apply a policy to our private industry that is stricter than the policy they have implemented for their own state employees and contractors."
—Sarah Stoliker
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What We Face
Illinois’ early childhood education centers face a workforce crisis. The findings of the 2017 Illinois Early Childhood Workforce Hiring Survey Report show that turnover rates for lead teachers in licensed childcare centers are twice as high as in school-based programs. The report also shows an average of time of three months needed to fill a head teacher position after a vacancy—an employment gap during which 73% of administrators report being diverted from their primary duties in order to compensate for the shortage of staff.
The State’s Role
In Illinois, the state agency that implements the various regulations passed by the legislature and signed into law for licensed childcare is the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The Department of Human Services (IDHS) implements the federal Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). The regulations that govern CCAP are passed by the federal government and then enforced by IDHS. The State Board of Education (ISBE) oversees the Preschool for All program that is also in many community-based child care centers, as well as in the public schools. Some of our community-based centers also offer Head Start, another program under federal mandates. The Illinois Early Learning Council was formed to attempt to coordinate the efforts of these various state and federal agencies to improve the quality of services provided. Other advisory councils, such as IDHS Advisory Council, the Professional Development Advisory Council (PDAC) and the DCFS Advisory Council also attempt to influence the rules and regulations that govern child care and early learning system in Illinois.
Our Plan
ILDOCC aims to correct the vast underrepresentation of early childcare education providers within the governing bodies tasked with regulating childcare centers. By making our voices heard, we can begin to play an active role in shaping education policy in order to better address the issues faced by Illinois' early childhood education providers..
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