Extension and Outreach
Service Units and Extension Teams
The Department of Human and Community Development provides the disciplinary home for a number of service units and extension teams that focus on education and outreach efforts designed to enhance the quality of life for children, families, and communities. These include:
Child Care Resource Service
The Child Care Resource Service (CCRS) provides child care resource and referral services to parents, child care providers, employers and communities in six east-central Illinois counties (Champaign, Douglas, Iroquois, Macon, Piatt, and Vermilion). CCRS also administers the financial assistance program in which parents can qualify to receive aid in paying for child care. The CCRS website provides links to child care, child development, and parenting information helpful to both parents and professionals.
Child Development Laboratory
The Child Development Laboratory (CDL) is a preschool and child care program that facilitates and supports the teaching, research and service functions of HCD, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, and the University community, while at the same time providing high quality early childhood program services for enrolled children and families. The CDL program plays a critical role in articulating the interconnectedness between theory, research and practice in disciplines focusing on the development of children and families.
Laboratory for Community and Economic Development
The Laboratory for Community and Economic Development (LCED) coordinates research and educational programs in community and economic development. The Lab's staff work with researchers, economic development practitioners, business leaders, extension educators and others across the country, bringing information and expertise to state and local policy makers, agricultural and business leaders, community leaders and Illinois residents.
Program for Rural Human and Family Development Research
The Illinois Rural Families Program (IRFP) collaborates with organizations serving rural Illinois communities in conducting applied research on human and family development issues and how these issues influence, and are influenced by, the communities in which the families live. Faculty and students work to promote positive human, family, and community development in rural areas as they conduct “action research” in joint effort with community-based organizations.
An example of this is the YouthWorks Project - IRFP’s premier effort to support positive youth development in rural contexts in ways that may help sustain and rejuvenate their home communities.