Providers in McHenry, DeKalb, Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, and Carroll Counties may be eligible to apply using the information below.
Info Session videos on each of these applications will be posted Monday, November 24, 2025. Please reach out with questions to kiml@four-c.org.
**NEW this year: Programs must attain a Silver or Gold Circle of Quality within three cohort cycles. Programs that do not meet this requirement will not be eligible to participate in future cohorts for a period of three years or until a Silver or Gold Circle is attained. Participation in this year’s cohort will be considered Year 1 participation for those this applies to.
Funding Type
Eligibility
Application
ExceleRate IL Cohort – QI Funding
Funding amount is determined based on the CQIP and provider type; in addition, for child care centers program capacity
Applications due in our office NO LATER than 5:00pm December 11, 2025
To apply; fully complete and submit sections B and C of the application along with a completed W-9
Open to Licensed Child Care Centers and Licensed Family Child Care/Family Group Home
Center Programs must be working towards/maintaining ExceleRate IL Silver or Gold under the childcare path
LFCC Programs must be working towards/maintaining ExceleRate IL Silver or Gold under the LFCC path
Attend and participate in ALL three (3) cohort meetings, must be program admin and the same person must attend all meetings
Must complete a program self-assessment
Must meet with a Quality and/or Infant Toddler Specialist at least four (4) times, if you are maintaining your Silver or Gold Circle you must meet a minimum of two (2) times
Applications due in our office no later than 5:00pm December 11, 2025.
Programs may be eligible for funding after completing all required steps of the QI Cohort
Open to Licensed Child Care Centers and Licensed Family Child Care/Family Group Home
Center Programs must be working towards/maintaining ExceleRate IL Bronze, Silver, or Gold under the childcare path
LFCC Progams must be working towards/maintaining ExceleRate Il Bronze, Silver, or Gold under the LFCC path
Training must be required for an ExceleRate IL Circle of Quality and must be ExceleRate approved
A stipend is only available for the minimum staff required to take the training for ExceleRate IL
Training Participants must be currently employed at the child care program
Must meet with a Quality and/or Infant Toddler Specialist at least two (2) times, if maintaining a Silver or Gold Circle must meet a minimum of one (1) time
Funding is allocated on a first come, first serve basis
Open to Licensed Child Care Centers and Licensed Family Child Care/Family Group Home
Programs must be applying for or maintaining ExceleRate Silver or Gold Circle of Quality
Must meet with a Quality and/or Infant Toddler Specialist at least two (2) times, or if maintaining a Silver or Gold Circle must meet a minimum of one (1) time.
Funding is allocated on a first come, first serve basis
Open to License Exempt Family Child Care (LEFCC) a provider who is not licensed by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS), and who can care for no more than three (3) children, including their own children, unless all the children are from the same household.
Open to License Exempt Child Care Center (LECCC) a center who is not licensed by the IDCFS, and who meets one of the allowable exemptions found in CCAP Policy 05.02.03, VIIIA
LE provider who currently provides care for at least one (1) child receiving assistance from the IDHS CCAP
LE provider who is an approved CCAP provider
LE provider who has a Corrective Action Plan from a Health & Safety Visit OR has completed the attached self-assessment
LE provider who is a member of the Gateways Registry
LE provider providing care in one of the following Illinois Counties; McHenry, DeKalb, Lee, Ogle, Whiteside, Carroll
LE provider with no unpaid financial obligation to CCR&R or to IDHS Division of Early Childhood – Bureau of Subsidy Management or Bureau of Quality Initiatives
LE provider must agree to a minimum of one (1) scheduled, virtual or on-site visit by a CCR&R staff member in addition to the monitoring visit
Complete the attached questionnaire to see if you are eligible
Open to programs licensed as a Child Care Center, Family Child Care, or Family Group Child Care.
Programs must be licensed and caring for children by the first of the month before applications open. For example, if the application opens on July 1, 2024, programs must be licensed, open, and caring for children by June 1, 2024.
Programs must operate as a full-day, full-year program offering eight consecutive hours of care per day, five days per week, 47 weeks per year.
For Child Care Centers – at least 15% of the program’s current licensed capacity (at time of application) enrolled and funded by CCAP in any month in the year prior to submitting an application (e.g., any one month between January 2023 –date of application).
For Family Child Care – care for at least 1 child and for Family Group Child Care 2 children enrolled and funded by CCAP in any month in the year prior to submitting an application (e.g., any one month between January 2023 – the date of application).
Other eligibility requirements may apply.
Applications are accessed through the Gateways Directors Portal
Funding Range for QI Funds: the allowable funding applies for any combination of QI Funds but may not exceed the max funding range for program type and size.
To be eligible for funding opportunities, programs must have no unpaid financial obligations to the CCR&R agency or the IDHS-DEC Bureau of Subsidy Management or Bureau of Quality Initiatives.
All Quality Improvement and Health and Safety applications must be mailed or dropped off to our DeKalb Office at 444 E. Hillcrest Dr. Suite 300, DeKalb IL 60115
Funding for these programs is provided by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois Division of Early Childhood
