The Coalition's strategic priorities 2021-2025
At the beginning of the pandemic, Coalition members initiated an 18-month strategic planning process that engaged over 300 stakeholders in identifying the challenging needs of children and families in the region. Following a community survey,three Thought Partner sessions were facilitated by a consultant from the Tamarack Insitute. Each session focused on a specific area of interest. These included children's health, school readiness, and strong families. The purpose of these sessions was to solicit " on the ground" insight into the survey results and brainstorm possible critical shifts that could be undertaken to address challenges and barriers. Following these sessions a small working group worked to synthesize the data and categorize the possible solutions into three areas: 1) strategies/ solutions the Coalition should lead, 2) strategies/solutions the Coalition should support, and 3) strategies and solutions that are outside the Coalition's scope or mandate. As a result, the small group prioritized possible critical shifts and maDe recommendations for the Coalition's strategic priorities. The Governance Council reviewed these recommendations and voted to approve the following priorities for the time period beginning July 1, 2021 through June 2025. The Coalition's strategic priorities include the following:
1. Promote child development awareness and implement systemic approaches that increase developmental and social-emotional screening for all children in Southern Illinois
2. Create a universal definition of school readiness, identify and prioritize agreed upon school readiness indicators and support strategies in a variety of settings that promote school readiness in southern Illinois communities
3. Promote effective co-ordination of services to support children (0-6) and their families
4.Attract& retain quality ECEC staff and strengthen the ECEC workforce
5. Empower Communities with information and tools to better support young children and their families
6. Act as an impact accelerator for other systems initiatives such as Birth to Five, Resilient SI and Community Children's Cabinets
1. Promote child development awareness and implement systemic approaches that increase developmental and social-emotional screening for all children in Southern Illinois
2. Create a universal definition of school readiness, identify and prioritize agreed upon school readiness indicators and support strategies in a variety of settings that promote school readiness in southern Illinois communities
3. Promote effective co-ordination of services to support children (0-6) and their families
4.Attract& retain quality ECEC staff and strengthen the ECEC workforce
5. Empower Communities with information and tools to better support young children and their families
6. Act as an impact accelerator for other systems initiatives such as Birth to Five, Resilient SI and Community Children's Cabinets