Children’s Home + Aid works hard to provide quality child care at a site in Carpentersville, IL, that is almost out of space and in need of major improvements. In a community with few options for parents seeking subsidized early child care, the agency has a waiting list for enrollment.
The solution is a new 27,000-square-foot building—four times larger than the current facility—that expands the number of children served by 130 percent. The new center benefits the community in other ways, creating construction jobs and adding 25 new positions to Children’s Home + Aid staff.
Construction began in May on the center, which will serve 230 children from low-income families when it opens in summer 2015. The decision to relocate came after IFF determined that the organization’s longtime home in Carpentersville is outdated and not worth renovating. IFF is managing the estimated $8.5 million project and helping the agency pursue LEED Silver certification through green design and construction practices.
The project will be partly paid for by a $5 million state grant to increase early childhood services in priority areas. An IFF 2011 study identified Carpentersville as among the top 15 communities in Illinois needing child care. IFF helped the agency obtain the funds and played a critical role in the grant program’s creation in 2011. IFF has a 20-year history of working with Children’s Home + Aid and supporting subsidized child care in high-need areas.
Children’s Home + Aid is a 130-year-old child and family services organization that annually protects, educates, and counsels over 40,000 children, youth, and families to overcome poverty, abuse, and neglect. Its programs include foster care, early childhood education, and family counseling in nearly 60 Illinois counties.