Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks for learning more about our agency and exploring our Program Services Model. Coordinated intake is a term agencies use to describe the work they do to serve as a single contact to streamline processes that can sometimes get complicated. Coordinated Intake through the Collaboration is best described as connecting families to the home visiting program, publicly funded preschool, or developmental services that will best fit each family’s unique needs. This way families have a guide through the many programs and service agencies available, reducing their time and efforts and customizing resources to fit their needs.

If you have questions about parent supports or free preschool in Oak Park or River Forest, call us at 708-613-6122, extension 8 or email us at programs@collab4kids.org.

A developmental screening is often in the form of a questionnaire that is completed by a parent or caregiver about their child. This questionnaire is sometimes referred to as a “screening tool.” These screening tools allow families to celebrate their child’s developmental milestones and to identify obstacles early. In other words, developmental screenings help increase early identification of strengths and developmental and behavioral concerns. To learn more about developmental screenings, how they work, and why they are important, visit our Child Health and Screening Page.

This is a term used to describe the services and supports that are available to babies and young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families. It includes speech therapy, physical therapy and other types of services based on the needs of the child and family. The earlier you, your doctor, and your child care provider can identify the need for early intervention, the sooner your child can begin to address, and overcome, challenges and barriers to learning. Regular developmental screenings can help identify the need for early intervention. Learn more about the early intervention referral process.

If you have questions about your child’s development, call us at 708-613-6122, extension 8 or email health@collab4kids.org. We are here to support you and get you connected to information to support your child’s healthy development!

IEP stands for Individualized Education Program, or Plan. In order for kids to receive special education services, they need an IEP. This is a legal document that highlights a child’s strengths and challenges, and lays out a program of services, accommodations, and supports tailored to meet that child’s needs. There’s a lot more to IEPs. Read more about the importance of IEPs. IEPs are for people ages 3-21. For children under three, this collection of tailored supports is called early intervention. Learn more.

That’s great! There are a variety of ways to get involved. You can lend your unique skill-set to the Collaboration by volunteering with us. You can donate. You can come to the next Collaboration Council meeting and share your voice in our work. You can help us welcome educators at our annual symposium. Do you have another idea of how to partner with us and share your support? Let us know.  

To learn more about volunteer options, reach out to Wendy, the Collaboration’s Community Engagement Coordinator.

Reach out to us through our contact form or email equity@collab4kids.org directly. The Collaboration will partner with you to design a training that fits the needs of you and your staff.

If you are a teacher or program staff and you would like training on how to identify your own biases, and gain strategies on how to adopt an equity lens in your practice, reach out to us at equity@collab4kids.org. We would like to hear about your needs and make training opportunities available to you.

If you are a program director, or teacher and one or more of your classrooms is struggling to understand and navigate the impact of stress or adversity in the life of a child in your program, reach out to us at equity@collab4kids.org and let us know. The Collaboration would like to pair you with a clinician who will work with you to examine and understand what you are seeing in the classroom and give you strategies for retaining and helping this child to thrive in your classroom.

We have an active network of early childhood educators and leaders that engage in Roundtable Meetings and professional development opportunities. We also have an engaged Professional Development Committee that offers guidance and insights on our calendar of workshops, as well as our annual Early Childhood Symposium. If you would like to be the first to know about professional development opportunities subscribe to our newsletter and click the box that says, “Resources for Early Childhood Providers and Directors.” 

If you have a specific question, please contact Mary, our Early Learning Partnership Coordinator at mquest@collab4kids.org. She would be happy to connect with you!

For families that require a little extra support, the Collaboration, in partnership with home visiting programs and the Village of Oak Park’s Public Health Nurse, work together to make sure families can get connected to a program through a single point of contact. You can learn more and make a referral on our Maternal Health and Home Visiting page.

Caring for others can be stressful and taxing on the emotional health of those providing the care. It is important to make sure you refuel so that you can maintain your own health while continuing to care for others. With this in mind, the Collaboration created the free, three-part telehealth session: “Running on Empty: The Cost of Caring in the Time of COVID-19.”

• Part One: The Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Teams
• Part Two: Individual Response: Strategies for Self-care
• Part Three: Organizational Response: The Role of Organizational Leadership

You can find many more general resources on our Health Professionals’ Resources page.

Yes you can. The Collaboration works with community physicans to support screening efforts. We partner with medical providers and practices (pediatric and family medicine) in Oak Park or River Forest to enhance developmental screening opportunities and meet new developmental and social-emotional screening requirements.

To receive developmental and social-emotional screening support for your practice, call 708-613-6122 ext. 5 or email Health@Collab4Kids.org.

Choosing child care is a big decision and can sometimes feel overwhelming, but early learning programs are beneficial to young children in so many ways! The best place to start is by perusing our Choosing an Early Learning Program page. Then explore our Early Childhood Resource Directory to see listings of child care centers in the Oak Park and River Forest communities. Please remember that if you have any questions at any point, you can speak to a human being that can help you. Just call 708-613-6122 x 8. 

We would like to know about your experience. We would like to listen to you and use our position in the community to help resolve issues around access to opportunity. Let’s work together to ensure equal opportunity for all right here in our community. Email us at equity@collab4kids.org.

No, we are not District 97 employees here at the Collaboration, but we partner with the school district to ensure that families who are most eligible are enrolled in the Pre-Kindergarten Partnership program, more commonly called PKP. Once we ensure a child is a strong fit for PKP, our work is done, and District 97 takes it from there!

Publicly funded preschool is a state or federally-funded preschool program. Oak Park and River Forest provides affordable, high-quality preschool to children whose families meet eligibility criteria such as veteran status, income level, or if their child has a disability or developmental delay. To learn more about whether your child qualifies for Preschool for All, email preschool@collab4kids.org or call 708-613-6122, ext. 8.

You can email health@collab4kids.org or you can call our office directly at 708-613-6122.

For some current thinking around our use of language to describe services for children with disabilities, please navigate to the Illinois Early Learning Project’s statement on updating their language. We at the Collaboration are committed to a process of self-examination and reflection and welcome feedback from you around our work with children with disabilities. We seek to continuously evolve in our understanding of the needs of children and families who are navigating systems and services for children with disabilities. This includes our use of language to describe the needs of our children who have disabilities, as well as children and families who may not have a diagnosis. 

You and your child should use language that you are most comfortable with, and we will follow your preference.