Success By 6

Success By 6 is an early childhood community collaborative dedicated to supporting our community through family and parent engagement, early behavioral and mental health services and greater awareness of resources for parents, caregivers, and early childhood providers.

The Success By 6 Coalition meets every other month, and is open to service providers, caregivers, and other interested persons. Use the sign-up form below receive updates and meeting invitations.

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We believe in the transformative power of investments within early childhood.

Jointly funded by United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois Counties and Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley, Success By 6 is comprised of early childhood professionals, passionate grandparents and guardians, school administrators, nonprofit leaders, healthcare providers, police chiefs, entrepreneurs and other community members who believe in the transformative power of investments within high-quality programs for young children and their families.

Our Mission: To impact the success of children birth to age six through policy formation, environmental changes and direct services.

Our Vision: Success By 6 envisions a community where all children and families are happy, healthy and well-adjusted.

History of Success By 6

United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois Counties and the Community Foundation of Kankakee River Valley created Success By 6 in 2008 to ensure all Kankakee County children ages 0-6 have the necessary enriching experiences and positive parent-child relationships necessary to begin school ready to succeed. Since 2008, Success By 6 has led multiple initiatives focused on parent support and school readiness such as early learning calendars, preschool fairs, parent cafes, Text4Baby, Kindergarten Bootcamps and caregiver trainings.

In 2016, Success By 6 partnered with the Erikson Institute of Chicago to implement the Early Development Instrument (EDI) in Kankakee County. The EDI is a community measure that provides information about children's health, development, and school readiness that can serve as a guide for our community as we seek to improve services and community conditions to better prepare children for success in school and in life.

Explore the Early Development Instrument Data

Local Initiatives

Kankakee & Iroquois County Strategic Plan

In order to better align our partnership efforts with long-term goals set by our Success By 6 Steering Committee, a Success By 6 Strategic Plan was created by the Coalition in 2022. These actions are carried out by our three Action Teams:

Healthy Beginnings Action Team
Supported Families Action Team
Early Childhood Workforce Development Action Team

Family Support Bus Partnership

Success By 6 has launched a new partnership program to bring early intervention services to families in our community.

In collaboration with the Bourbonnais 53 District, parent education and support programs through Jump Start (EasterSeals), Healthy Families (Aunt Martha’s) and First Taste (Kankakee District 111), we are excited to bring the BESD 53 Family Support Bus to your local library or community center to offer free developmental screenings to children ages 5 and under. CLICK HERE to learn more.

Family Support Bus