RAPID and Illinois Action for Children partnership

Community served

Since 1969, Illinois Action for Children has advocated for child care providers, families, and children across the state of Illinois, with programs that support everyone in creating safe, healthy, and sustainable places in the community for children.

Priorities and goals

Illinois Action for Children’s approach interweaves research, advocacy and policy, and innovative programming, so all children and families in Illinois have access to high-quality, affordable child care and early learning opportunities.

An authority and champion in the early care and education field, Illinois Action for Children uses their expertise to create quality structures of care and education that support the whole child, family, and community. They partner with a network of community-based organizations, child care providers, educators, advocates, elected officials, and donors to transform lives and foster success.

Engaging families

In 2022, the RAPID Survey Project and Illinois Action for Children began collaborating to conduct quarterly surveys with an ongoing panel of Illinois parents and hear directly from Illinois families with young children about their experiences, needed supports, and what’s going well. The goal of the panel was to gather essential and ongoing information from parents to inform its policy and advocacy initiatives and inform the public and public officials about parents’ goals, experiences, and challenges in raising young children in Illinois.

The surveys represented 419 Illinois parents of children under age 6 across 34 Illinois counties who shared their experiences with material hardship, family well-being, child care, and more. Parents were recruited mainly from the metro Chicago region, and most families had an income of less than $90,000.

Data and insights

• Illinois parents shared insights on employment, financial state, mental well-being, child care experiences, and family routines, including time spent together and access to healthy food.
• Topics discussed included social support systems, housing concerns, and reliability of child care.
• Parents highlighted experiences related to community involvement, health care access, transportation, environmental quality, and safety concerns.
• Access to resources and information was also a key focus in the conversations.