About Every Child Ready Chicago

Every Child Ready Chicago (ECRC) is a public-private partnership led by the Mayor’s Office in partnership with Start Early (formerly known as the Ounce of Prevention Fund) working to ensure all children in Chicago enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and life. The multi-year, collective effort will work to align the prenatal-to-five systems and support serving Chicago children and families under a unified vision and build the early childhood systems infrastructure needed for thousands more children to enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Chicago has a strong history of investing in early learning opportunities that begin at birth and are delivered in both school and community-based settings. The initiative will build on this strong foundation to set forth — and achieve — a vision of a coherent prenatal-to-five system that provides equitable access to supports and services that ensure the highest outcomes for our city’s youngest learners.

ECRC launched in the Fall of 2019 by bringing together leaders from early childhood programs and services, the research and advocacy communities, parents and families of young children, and city agencies to create a shared vision of success for the city’s system for its young children and their families. This Early Childhood Working Group will guide the City and inform the development and implementation of a plan to create a strong, equitable early childhood system with positive outcomes for all children.

Questions? You can contact us via email at ECRC@cityofchicago.org.

Join Us at the ECRC Strengthening Inclusion Symposium

Every Child Ready Chicago (ECRC), a public-private partnership led by the Mayor’s Office in partnership with Start Early, is partnering with Chicago Public Schools to host the ECRC Strengthening Inclusion Symposium on Saturday, December 7th, from 10 AM to 2 PM at Malcolm X College.

The purpose of this event is to bring together a diverse audience with interest in early intervention and early childhood special education to learn about issues impacting young children with disabilities in Chicago, learn about inclusive models of service delivery and their benefits to all children, share and discuss challenges in various settings, and provide input to on how to improve inclusion for young children with disabilities in Chicago. Contact Madison Ezell at mezell@startearly.org with any questions or concerns.

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Our Purpose

Every Child Ready Chicago is an initiative to build a coherent prenatal to five system that provides equitable access to the supports and services families need.

Our Role

• Advise the Mayor’s Office, Chicago Public Schools, Department of Family and Support Services and other relevant city agencies on priorities and activities related to building a strong early learning system in Chicago.
• Provide a space for transparent and timely sharing of information and resources.
• Provide a platform for supporting collaboration across the early childhood community in Chicago.