Date of Award

Winter 1-21-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Child Development

First Advisor

Pamela Epley

Second Advisor

Samantha Melvin

Abstract

The early childhood system in the United States is piecemeal and fragmented (Adams et al., 2017; Gomez & Rendon, 2019; Kagan & Kauerz, 2012; State Capacity Building Center, 2022). The result is that families have unequal access to care, education, and other early childhood services for their young children. There have been various approaches to building, impacting, and changing the early childhood system to move toward equity, and many of these approaches call for collaborative efforts. The state of Illinois is engaged in comprehensive early childhood systems work, and one of the vehicles driving this change has been the work of cross-sector groups called early childhood community collaborations (ECCCs). There is a paucity of peer-reviewed research describing exactly what ECCCs are, how they interact with the early childhood system, and how they enact change within it. This qualitative study examines the roles, successes, and barriers experienced by ECCCs in their efforts to change early childhood systems, as illustrated by five ECCCs in Illinois. Data was analyzed through the lens of an adapted Six Conditions of Systems Change (Kania et al., 2018) theoretical model, providing insight into these groups and their role in impacting the local early childhood system. For the first time, this study ties together systems work, Collective Impact, and early childhood collaborations, which is a significant contribution to the field. Results indicate the important role of ECCCs in bringing people together as closing systems gaps, collaborating to bring important resources together, and changing perspectives about early childhood. ECCC successes include shifting system conditions, although tracking the work can be challenging. Barriers include the need for more funding and a recognition of the existing ways in which inequitable systems are perpetuated.

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