View recordings of previous We, the Village webinars, town halls, and meetings here.
Webinar 2: Beyond HB1312 – Navigating Immigration Enforcement for Child Care Providers in IL
This webinar series was designed to support early childhood providers in understanding and implementing best practices to keep children, families, and staff safe when navigating immigration enforcement activity in their communities. During this session, we focused on: Applying the HB1312 requirements shared in Webinar 1 to real-world situations, staff response protocols, and supporting children, families, and staff when managing immigration enforcement.
Webinar 1: Understanding HB1312 Safe Licensed Child Care Legislation
This webinar series aims to support licensed child care providers in understanding and implementing new legal requirements related to immigration enforcement. The webinar provides an overview of the legislation, guidance on compliance and implementation, and shares best practices and resources from state agencies.
Understanding the Illinois Funding Landscape
In July 2026, most early childhood programs are scheduled to transition from their legacy agencies to the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC), a move that will change the ways that early childhood programs are funded. To help de-mystify this process for advocates, Illinois’ early childhood coalitions We, the Village and Raising Illinois are coming together to share information about this process and ways to engage with IDEC.
We brought together Bri Stormer, Assistant Director, Policy and Engagement at Illinois Action for Children and co-chair of the We, the Village Policy Committee; Kimberly Bianchini, Founder & Director of Advance Preschool, Inc. in Hoffman Estates; and Simone Santiago, Director of Raising Illinois for a discussion around how Illinois’s early childhood programs are currently funded, and what proposed changes are under the new IDEC structure.
Illinois Department of Early Childhood (IDEC) One-Year Town Hall
In honor of the one-year anniversary of the new Illinois Department of Early Childhood, We, the Village hosted a community-focused event that brought together early childhood educators, families, advocates, and state leaders to discuss the development and impact of the department.