Gateways History

Gateways to Opportunity is a statewide system of professional development administered by the Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA). Funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services, the McCormick Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation supports the system.

The design process is being coordinated with existing early care and education credentials - the Type 04 Early Childhood Education Teaching Certificate, the Illinois Director Credential, and the Early Intervention Credential - as well as other higher education initiatives currently under development. These include the revised Early Childhood Teacher Standards, the Paraprofessional Credential, the Associate of Arts in Teaching degree, the Infant Toddler Credential, the Child Care Apprenticeship, and the Natural Allies Project to prepare practitioners to better serve young children with disabilities by using community college resources.

An initial two-year grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to the Illinois State Board of Education supported the beginning efforts of the Professional Development Advisory Committee. The Illinois Workforce Investment Board approved the funding for this project.

Gateways to Opportunity builds upon the professional development recommendations included in the report on universal preschool and the results from the April 2002 Statewide Forum on Professional Preparation and Development of the Early Childhood Workforce.

Gateways to Opportunity expanded its vision to include School-Age and Youth practitioners in the statewide system of professional development in 2007. Credentials for Illinois School-Age and Youth practitioners are currently in development.