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DuPage County – The DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) is proud to announce the successful kickoff of the Basics initiative in DuPage County following the DuPage AOK Early Childhood Collaborative (DAECC) Summit. Science shows that 80% of brain growth happens by the age of three. Beginning from birth, young brains develop like little muscles, getting bigger and stronger the more you and your family interact with your child. The Basics Principles are five fun, simple, and powerful ways to help all our children aged 0-3 grow to be happy and smart.
The DAECC Summit served as a platform to introduce and implement The Basics initiative in DuPage County. The event featured esteemed keynote speaker Dr. Ron Ferguson, Faculty Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University. Dr. Ferguson, a distinguished MIT-trained economist, helped develop the Basics Learning Network, emphasizing the significance of early childhood development in shaping the future of our communities.
The basic principles are as follows:
- Maximize love, manage stress
- Talk, sing, and point
- Count, group, and compare
- Explore through movement and play
- Read and discuss stories
“The DuPage County Health Department is committed to promoting the well-being of our community’s youngest members,” said Andrea Gargani, Director of Public Health Operations, DuPage County Health Department. “We are thrilled to partner with The Basics initiative to ensure that every child in DuPage County has the opportunity to thrive.”
Partnerships are integral to the success of The Basics initiative, with involvement from various stakeholders including hospitals, health centers, schools, community centers, childcare providers, churches, family members, and others.
For more information about The Basics initiative and how to get involved, please visit The Basics in DuPage County – Illinois Basics (basicsillinois.org)
The DuPage Early Childhood Collaboration (DECC) was established in 2014 as a regional early childhood collaboration to support county-level system development and alignment for young children and their families, to build awareness, and to facilitate access to high-quality early childhood services and education. In 2022, DCHD was named the backbone agency for DECC. In the same year, the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development awarded DCHD the All Our Kids (AOK) grant. To best support early childhood initiatives in DuPage County, DECC and AOK merged to form DAECC in 2023.
