On-Demand Learning

On-Demand Learning offers the opportunity for collaboration leaders, early childhood advocates, and community members to take learning into their own hands. Thanks to generous funding from Illinois State Board of Education, and in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood, Illinois Action for Children is able to offer these supports at no cost to you. Through 2022, IAFC will introduce at least 15 on-demand learning courses, covering various topics including data, systems-thinking, equity, and community systems strategies. 

When you complete a course in its entirety, you will be prompted to submit your Gateways Registry number—this is a great opportunity to log your professional achievement and recognize the knowledge, skills and experience you have gained. If you do not need Gateways credits, just leave this portion blank. Either way, you will receive a certificate of completion.

To access the modules, learners will need an account. If you already have a WeConnect account, then you can use that same username and password to connect to On-Demand Learning. If you do not yet have a WeConnect account, please complete the form here. Once you complete the form, someone from the Community Systems Statewide Supports (CS3) team will reach out to you with next steps. Happy learning!



On-Demand Learning Courses:

  • Early Childhood Collaboration Data Course
Data is crucial to the work of early childhood collaborations; many want to learn more about how to become more data-informed. These modules delve into how to focus your purpose, collect data, make meaning from the data, communicate findings to drive action, and build a data culture. This course is comprised of six modules focused on data and the crucial role that it plays in community systems development.

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  • Early Childhood Collaboration Governance Learning Course
Collaboration governance comes in all shapes and sizes, ranging from a small ad hoc group using a brief project charter to well-established collaborations, which have incorporated as 501(c)3 organizations and adopted bylaws. At their best, collaborations' governance documents, whether shorter or longer, are not bureaucratic formalities. Rather they promote a strong foundation (vision, mission, values, and principles), strong processes (decision-making that promotes inclusive solutions), and an adaptable, clear, supportive structure.

 

  • Shared Intake for Early Childhood Collaborations Course
Shared intake (also commonly known as coordinated intake) is a Community Systems Development (CSD) strategy that provides families with a single point of entry where their needs for support can be assessed and they can be referred to local services and programs that best fit the family’s needs. This course explores benefits of shared intake, implementation and implementation challenges of shared intake, and how to create a plan for shared intake.

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  • Community Systems Development for Early Childhood Collaborations Course
Community Systems Development (CSD) is a process by which community stakeholders from different sectors work in collaboration to focus and align their work, develop shared processes to achieve common outcomes, and take collective responsibility for the young children in their community. These modules explore CSD in early childhood collaborations.

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  • Collaborative Developmental Screenings for Early Childhood Collaborations Course
Collaborative developmental screenings is a Community Systems Development (CSD) strategy where different stakeholders and sectors collaborate to coordinate and conduct screenings, so more children can be screened and more children will then receive the services they need. This course explores benefits of collaborative developmental screenings, implementation and implementation challenges of collaborative developmental screenings, and how to create a plan for collaborative developmental screenings.

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  • Early Childhood Collaboration Parent Engagement Course

Parent engagement is an integral component of community systems works. These modules were created to provide Illinois’ early childhood collaborations and early childhood stakeholders in general with the knowledge, resources, and tools to deepen their parent engagement practices. Users can adapt the resources offered in this course to meet the unique needs of their collaboration and community to: · Deepen their understanding of parent engagement. · Draft a shared understanding of parent engagement and the core beliefs that will guide their collaboration’s efforts. · Examine the four parent engagement roles in the Community Systems and Policy level and learn how to strengthen partnerships with parents. · Develop a plan for engaging parents at their collaboration.

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