“One light feeds another. One strong family lends strength to more. One engaged community can ignite those around it. This is the power of the light we carry.”
– Michelle Obama, The Light We Carry
CS3 Updates
Save The Date! 2026 Partner Plan Act Conference – April 28-30, 2026
The CS3 team is excited to announce that the 2026 Partner Plan Act Conference will be held virtually from April 28-30, 2026!
The theme this year is Equity from the Start: Centering Community Well-being in Early Childhood Systems. Join us for engaging discussions, insightful sessions, and networking opportunities.
Be sure to check the Partner Plan Act website for the latest information about registration and stay tuned for exciting conference updates!
Request for Workshop Proposals
CS3 invites collaboration leaders and potential presenters to submit a Request for Proposal (RPF) for workshop sessions for the 2026 Partner Plan Act (PPA) Conference.
The conference focuses on racial equity in systems change efforts and workshops should cover applicable strategies, such as supporting priority populations, essential mindsets and practices for leading community systems development, coordinated intake systems, family engagement, and much more.
Workshops should be 90 minutes long (75 minutes presentations with 15 minutes for breaks). Six proposals will be selected, and presenters are eligible to receive a $200 honorarium per presentation (applies to all presenters, individual or organizational). Applicants should be familiar with Partner Plan Act and/or community systems development work.
Submit proposals to partnerplanact@actforchildren.org with the subject line “Workshop Proposal – [Workshop Title] - 2026 PPA Conference” by December 19, 2025.
You will be notified of the status of your application in early January 2026. For additional information or questions, please contact Aziza Hummeid at aziza.hummeid@actforchildren.org.
Strengthen Your Facilitation Skills with On-Demand Consultation
Need help designing a meeting? Facilitating a sticky situation? Want to grow your facilitation skills? Chris Foster, co-author of Facilitating Effective Community System Development Meetings: A Handbook for Collaboration Leaders is available to provide on-demand consultation support for facilitation. The level of support is up to you! You can request a single call or up to 20 hours of support. Take the steps to enhance your facilitation skills today!
Request On-Demand Consultation
Know Your Rights Fact Sheets
Now as much as ever, it is important for families and communities to understand your rights. We encourage you to download and share this two-page Know Your Rights Fact Sheet from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR).
This resource is available in multiple languages, and local early childhood collaborations may use the CS3 printing resources through America Color Labs to request printed flyers.
Please select your preferred language and submit a printing request below.
Upcoming CS3 Trainings and Events
Collaboration Highlight: Lunch & Learn Community Parenting Support Saturation (CPSS)
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Time: 12 – 1 p.m.
In this session you’ll hear about Community Parenting Support Saturation (CPSS) which partners with communities to expand access to a full range of parenting support, tailoring evidence-based interventions to meet families where they are. Their approach “saturates” communities by offering:
Tier 1: Universal strategies that reach all families
Tier 2: Short-term parenting programs for those needing additional support
Tier 3: Intensive services, such as home visiting, for families with the highest needs
Join the session to see how CPSS works collaboratively to ensure families have the right support at the right time, strengthening parenting capacity across entire communities.
This session will be facilitated by Aziza Hummeid.
This session will be recorded.
Moving Action to Policy:Influencing Systems from Local to State
Date: Thursday, January 22, 2026, and Thursday, January 29, 2026
Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
This two-part interactive series supports early childhood collaborations in building on their day-to-day work with practical, concrete strategies to influence policy, starting at the local level and expanding toward statewide systems change.
Part 1: From Community Collaboration to Local Systems Change
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Learn how to identify policy problems using family stories and local data, map your policy landscape, and build influence through strategic storytelling and actionable tools.
Part 2: Scaling Local Collaboration into State Policy Influence
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Build on your local momentum to engage in statewide policy conversations. Explore the language of systems influence, connect your work to state decision-makers, and develop a concrete plan to move your message upward.
This series is eligible for Gateways credits and certificates issued in collaboration with The Center: Early Childhood Professional Learning.
This event will not be recorded.
This training will be facilitated by Jaclyn Vasquez and Dr. Rebecca Halperin.
Collaboration Highlight: Lunch & Learn – Community Support Services Saturation
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Time: 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
In this session you’ll hear about Community Support Services Saturation (CPSS) which partners with communities to expand access to a full range of parenting support, tailoring evidence-based interventions to meet families where they are. Their approach “saturates” communities by offering:
Tier 1: Universal strategies that reach all families
Tier 2: Short-term parenting programs for those needing additional support
Tier 3: Intensive services, such as home visiting, for families with the highest needs
This session will highlight how CPSS works collaboratively to ensure families have the right support at the right time, strengthening parenting capacity across entire communities.
This session will be facilitated by Aziza Hummeid.
This session will be recorded.
Mini Cohort: Early Childhood
Date(s): Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Tuesday February 24, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Illinois’ young children deserve the best start in life—and the foundations of early childhood education are the building blocks to lifelong success. This three-week mini collaboration cohort is designed for community collaboration partners to come together, learn, and exchange ideas.
Participants will explore:
- The science of brain development and how it influences early learning.
- The developing infant/toddler and the importance of early intervention
- The structure of Illinois’ early childhood programs and systems.
Each session will feature an expert speaker, Q&A opportunities, and open dialogue to foster meaningful connections and actionable insights. Together, let’s strengthen the fabric of Illinois’ early childhood community.
This training will be facilitated by Jaclyn Vasquez and Dr. Rebecca Halperin.
This series is eligible for Gateways credits and certificates issued in collaboration with The Center: Early Childhood Professional Learning.
This event will not be recorded.
Measuring Impact: Understanding and Capturing Family Impact
Date(s): Tuesday, February 12
Tuesday, February 19
Time: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Join us for high-level training designed to help early childhood collaborations build the skills to use data meaningfully to understand, communicate, and demonstrate their impact for long-term sustainability.
This training will be facilitated by Hannah Miro and Jaclyn Vasquez.
This series is eligible for Gateways credits and certificates issued in collaboration with The Center: Early Childhood Professional Learning.
This event will not be recorded.
Other Events & Updates
Save the Date for Early Childhood Advocacy Day: May 13, 2026
We need your support to speak on behalf of Illinois’ children and families. Together, we’ll review key information on the legislative and budget issues that are affecting the futures of children and families throughout the state and use our voices to communicate the importance of early childhood programs to lawmakers.
Join us alongside our advocacy partners in Springfield this May to promote increased opportunities for our youngest learners. With your support, we will ensure all children, families, and communities have what they need to thrive.
Join We, the Village at our Next Coalition Meeting: Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 12 p.m.
Join the We, the Village Coalition’s upcoming virtual meeting to hear the latest updates, trends, and opportunities shaping early childhood care and education in Illinois. This is a great opportunity for providers, advocates, and community members to stay connected, informed, and ready to engage in the policies and initiatives impacting our field.
Has Flat Funding Impacted Your Program? Share Your Story with We, the Village
We, the Village (WTV) is collecting and posting testimony on FY26 flat funding for early childhood programs and its impact on parents and providers. These stories will be used to support WTV’s FY27 early childhood budget advocacy. Submit your testimony today on how flat funding for ECACE, EI, Home Visiting, and ECBG is impacting you and/or your community.
weconnect
WeConnect brings together members who are dedicated to advancing community systems development in early childhood education and care.
You can also find and access our on-demand courses on WeConnect. Be sure to check out our latest course: Fiscal Sustainability 201!
Fiscal Sustainability 201 is designed for early childhood collaborations ready to deepen and apply their knowledge of sustainable funding strategies to meet long-term goals. Building on the foundational concepts from Fiscal Sustainability 101, this course will help you strengthen your funding practices with a focus on strategy, alignment, and implementation.
WeConnect gives you access to:
- Online Communities: Connect with your collaboration, get early childhood and community systems development news, and meet other collaborations members online.
- Discussions: Ask questions and share your knowledge and ideas.
- Resource Libraries: Share and find the resources you need.
- Member Directory: Get in touch with other collaboration members.
Check your spam folder if you have not received a confirmation email.
CS3 Resources
Access Printing Support
The CS3 team is continuing to offer support in partnership with American Color Labs for printing services. If your local early childhood collaboration has marketing materials that you’d like to print, please complete this Request for Support form.
Printing support can include flyers, annual reports, marketing collateral, stickers, banners, posters, and more. Please reach out to the CS3 team if you have questions about this support.
PLEASE NOTE: This is a service provided specifically to early childhood education and care (ECEC) collaborations. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate requests for individual programs.