Resources needed for childhood programs

Marjory Lewe-Brady has seen the positive impact early intervention programs can have on children and their families.

But with about 550 children in West Chicago Elementary District 33's programs for 5-year-olds and younger - and just one community-based clinical social worker - it's getting harder to help all of the students who need it, according to Lewe-Brady, director of WeGo Together for Kids. "It breaks our hearts to know there are other families that don't have access to that early intervention that is going to dramatically change those ... children's lives in the future," she said.

Changing demographics are leading to a greater demand for resources, even in DuPage County, according to the "Education for the 21st Century" report released Thursday by the advocacy group Voices for Illinois Children.

"Historically, the perception is in a community where there's affluence, there's no need," said Jeanna Capito, executive director of Positive Parenting DuPage and chair of the DuPage Voices Leadership Committee. "There's still individuals that reside in the community that would like to pretend that there's no need in our community. So it really makes the burden on us much greater in order to get the services for families."

The 2009 report found three major challenges in Illinois - increasing numbers of students who are low income or have limited English proficiency, disparities in test scores and graduation rates, and inequities in resources available to schools, according to Rebecca Waterstone, a member of the leadership committee.

Roughly 14.5 percent of students in DuPage are considered low-income, according to the report. It also found that statewide, less than half of eighth-graders are proficient in math, reading and writing. Only about 20 percent of high school juniors are considered "college ready" based on their ACT scores.

In DuPage, programs for children 5 years old and younger are especially in demand, according to Waterstone. She said additional programs also are needed for the well-being of the child, including parent education and support programs for families.

Voices for Illinois Children members say both partnership and funding are needed to secure such programs.

The group is trying to "encourage collaboration between families, educators, legislators and everyone who cares about education in Illinois," said Darlene Ruscitti, superintendent of the DuPage Regional Office of Education.

"We know we have the expertise in the state," she said "It takes the political will."