Prenatal to Three Supplement
Prenatal to Three Supplement
The first three years of life for a child are the timeframe when brain development progresses the fastest and sets the foundation for learning. Ensuring equitable access to support services and resources for infants, toddlers, and families during this critical period can optimize healthy development.
To further complement statewide prenatal-to-three efforts, there was an opportunity to examine 2019 and 2020 data specific to infants and toddlers ages 2 and under with a Prenatal to Three Supplement to the Illinois Risk and Reach Report.
Data presented in this supplement focus on the Illinois child population age 2 and under. From available data, the following indicators were identified as critical to understanding the state’s prenatal-to-three landscape:
- Poverty
- Income Assistance
- Child Care Subsidy
- Food Assistance
- Doula Services
- Continuous Post-Partum Coverage
- Universal Newborn Supports
- Child Nutrition
- Home Visiting
- Developmental Screening
- Early Intervention
- Highly Rated Licensed Child Care
- Prevention Initiative
Child Population Density age 2 and under, 2019
Key Observations
The Prenatal to Three Supplement is designed to provide data that can help advance policies and resource distribution to strengthen the State’s prenatal-to-three system of care. In the development of the report, the following themes emerged:
Obtaining reliable data for children aged 0-2, particularly by race and ethnicity, proved to be a challenge, which limits Illinois’ ability to serve families.
This supplement is a pilot endeavor using data collected during unprecedented times. In conjunction with the scarcity of reliable data, the COVID-19 pandemic presented new challenges with understanding all the limitations and implications of 2020 data.
As Illinois moves forward, efforts to standardize data collection across the early childhood system will need to consider ways to expand the availability of data for infants and toddlers.
Download the Prenatal to Three Supplement
See the full set of prenatal to three data and maps by downloading the Supplement. Please fill out this form for the download link.
The Prenatal to Three Supplement to the Illinois Risk and Reach Report is a collaborative effort of three organizations committed to ensuring young children have access to high-quality early childhood programs, services, and equitable opportunities to thrive.
