The Illinois Prevention Initiative provides grants to home-based and center-based programs to expand access to the Early Head Start (EHS) model as well as other birth to 3 models. The goal is to serve additional children birth to age 3 and help grantees increase program quality. The initiative to expand access to EHS and other models was established by the Illinois State Board of Education in 2007, as recommended by the Illinois Early Learning Council. The initiative is funded through a 14 percent set-aside of the Early Childhood Block Grant (Infant Toddler Set-Aside) with state general revenue funds. The statute requires that all Prevention Initiative programs funded by the Block Grant serve infants and toddlers at-risk of school failure using a research-based program model. The Illinois State Board of Education contracts with the Ounce of Prevention Fund to provide ongoing training and technical assistance to help grantees work toward aligning their projects with state and federal standards. (Additional information is provided.)