“When the world tells you to shrink, expand.”
– Elaine Welteroth, More Than Enough
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!
Upcoming CS3 Trainings and Events
Moving Action to Policy: Influencing Systems from Local to State
Date(s): 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
Part 2: Scaling Local Collaboration into State Policy Influence
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.
Mini Cohort: Early Childhood
Date(s): Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Tuesday February 24, 2026
Time: 9 a.m. – 11 a.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.
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, 2026, and Tuesday, February 19, 2026
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.
Community Engagement as Collective Healing
Location: Naperville, Illinois
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Community engagement in early childhood is essential for children’s well-being and family thriving. This interactive session helps early childhood collaboration members understand how trauma, racialized stress, and system barriers affect trust, participation, and power in early childhood work.
Using healing-centered and trauma-informed approaches, participants will explore ways to build stronger relationships, support shared leadership, and create spaces where communities feel valued and included.
Participants will:
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Understand how trauma and inequities impact engagement
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Build trust and stronger relationships with communities
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Move from rule-focused engagement to relationship-focused practices
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Center community voices and support shared leadership
This training will be facilitated by Dr. Alexandra Escobar.
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.
Fiscal Sustainability in Southern Illinois Communities
Location: Mt. Vernon, Illinois
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2026
Time: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Sustaining collaborative work in rural communities requires creativity, persistence, and the right tools. This interactive workshop focuses on developing fiscal strategies that fit the realities of smaller communities, where funding streams are often limited.
Participants will:
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Explore innovative approaches like shared resources, diversified funding, and community-based fundraising that build long-term stability.
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.
Please note, this training will not be recorded.
Other Events & Updates
Training Opportunities in Collaboration with The Center: Early Childhood Professional Learning
Tuesday, January 20
Wednesday, January 28
Visit The Center’s Training Calendar for more opportunities.
View The Center Training Calendar
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.