The new state Department of Early Childhood is set to begin operating in full as of July 1. The department’s allocations in the coming year’s state budget totaled $4.42 billion, a 3.6% increase in state spend compared to the services the state taxpayer was paying under other agencies.
In a hearing on the department’s budget earlier this year, IDEC Secretary Teresa Ramos told state lawmakers the goal of the new department is to bring new efficiencies and oversight in the state’s spending on early childhood programs.
For fiscal year 2026, the Department of Children and Family Services was appropriated $2.46 billion, and in the new budget, DCFS is to receive $2.51 billion. When accounting for a transfer in services to the new department, DCFS saw a roughly $30.4 million increase in funding year-over-year.
Within the Illinois Department of Human Services budget, the two line items taken over by the new department add up to a $3.5 million deduction from the current year’s allocation.
Despite the offloading of responsibility, the agency’s full budget decreased by only $2.79 million, representing a technical increase when accounting for the shift in oversight.
Story from Illinois Radio Network
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