HCD Outreach
Our faculty seek to fulfill the land grant mission and bridge gaps between research and practice through campus and community collaborations. Serving the citizens of Champaign-Urbana and the state of Illinois at large, our faculty are dedicated to applied research and educational outreach in the areas of parenting, child care, relationships, health promotion, and youth services to name a few.
We have a long tradition of creating unique educational resources and programs for helping families and working with children including our Child Development Laboratory and Child Care Resource Service. One of our latest developments is a resource center that provides services to families dealing with autism.
Although most of our educational programs are delivered through traditional, face to face workshops, we have utilized the Internet to expand our reach by creating online delivery systems for many of our programs. Parenting 24/7, for example, is web-based resource for parents created by Dr. Aaron Ebata. The program has an online delivery system, provides research-based information that is accessible to parents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and has won National Awards for outstanding Extension programming.
Parents who are interested in managing work and life issues more effectively can gain information from Intentional Harmony.
Our Department was one of the pioneers in providing information and resources to parents about child care. From the humble beginnings of a telephone and desk in the hallway staffed by a part-time person, the Child Care Resource Service today is one of the national leaders in innovative methods of providing resource and referral services to families. Child Care Resource Service provides child care referrals, information on evaluating quality child care, resources on various parenting issues, and assistance in paying for child care for income eligible families in east central Illinois (Champaign, Douglas, Iroquois, Macon, Piatt, and Vermilion counties).
Extension Programming
HCD faculty work with Extension educators across Illinois who provide community educational programs to individuals and families. Serving rural and urban areas, Extension faculty and educators work together to provide research-based programming. Some of the programs they have focused on in recent years include, but are not limited to:
- Parenting 24/7 (on online resource for parents)
- Terrific Teachable Moments(character education for elementary-aged students)
- Walk in My Shoes (provides youth with knowledge on aging and older adulthood)
- Nibbles (helps parents deal with common challenges, such as healthy eating/proper exercise for children)
- A Guide to the Babysitting Business (teach youth skills needed to provide child care for young children)
Your Young Child (provides parents and child care providers knowledge on parenting challenges such as infant crying, providing positive guidance, toilet training, and sleep routines to name a few - Intentional Harmony (provides couples skills and strategies for balancing work and family life priorities)
- Illinois 4H
- Building Entrepreneurial Communities