Erikson Institute

Erikson Institute’s work is guided by a three-year strategic plan (2022-2025) which centers justice, quality, and impact. We work towards a world where children birth to eight and their families reach their fullest potential and where children, families, and communities experience equity, justice, inclusion, and belonging. As such, Erikson has identified four key priorities to guide us toward this goal:

1) Grow and diversify the early childhood workforce with an emphasis on whole child success.

2) Expand access to children's social, emotional, and mental health services including early intervention, home visiting, parent-child psychotherapy, or other children's mental health services statewide through the DCFS Project and the Center for Children and Families.

3) Build leadership capacity and mobilize communities to dismantle systemic barriers for children and families to access equitable opportunities

4) Deepen investment in the Herr Research Center with an emphasis on applied research and informing academic programs in order to create a new generation of knowledge through cutting-edge research

Erikson Institute was one of the first institutions in the country to recognize the importance of a child’s early years. Today, our groundbreaking work continues to define us as pioneers in the field of early childhood and leaders in the essential work to make a positive difference for children, families, and communities.

With an exclusive focus on educating, serving, and leading in the early childhood field, our work to improve the lives of young children and their families is supported by four pillars:

-Innovative academic programs
We are the premier graduate school in child development and a leader in continuing education for professionals who work with young children and their families. On our downtown Chicago campus and through online distance learning, we uniquely prepare adults to become informed leaders and practitioners. We offer a range of advanced degrees and certificate programs in child development, early childhood education, and social work.

-Direct service in the community
Our students, faculty, and staff provide a wide range of direct services to children and families in Illinois. More than 7,000 families have been served by our Fussy Baby Network, Center for Children and Families, and Early Childhood Project, a partnership with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Each year, our students put in more than 49,000 hours of field service at 68 agencies serving children and their families.

-Applied research
Erikson's current research projects respond directly to the needs of young children and the people who serve them by focusing on what works and how and on models that can be replicated. Our groundbreaking research includes several studies that are the first of their kind in the field on topics including home visiting, mindfulness interventions in the classroom, and home-based child care.

-Field-wide policy advocacy and influence
Our Policy and Leadership team works collaboratively with communities and their leaders to inform policy and systems change that ensures all children receive equitable opportunities to achieve their full potential. We do this through three initiatives:
Early Childhood Leadership Academy
Early Development Instrument (EDI) Project
Risk and Reach Report

Above all, we remain true to our founding mission and to the conviction that all children deserve an equitable opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Erikson is guided by strong leadership to meet its objectives. Erikson's Board of Trustees demonstrates a deep commitment to preserving and enhancing the Institute. For 55 years, trustees have skillfully guided Erikson through its metamorphosis from a small, local, and unaccredited institution to a highly respected national leader in the field, with a strong endowment, national student body, and innovative, accredited academic programs. In addition to their strong financial support, trustees play a critical role in building greater awareness of Erikson's activities and impact in the Chicago community and beyond, helping to identify and attract new sources of support. For more than 10 years, the board has participated vigorously in several large initiatives that have contributed significantly to the preservation and enhancement of the Institute.

Erikson's fifth president, Dr. Mariana Souto-Manning, began her leadership role at the Institute in September 2021. Prior to joining Erikson, Dr. Souto-Manning was the Professor of Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Erikson's senior management team works in partnership with the president to set policy, discuss organizational issues from the leadership perspective, and problem-solving. This group is comprised of the Chief Financial Officer, Chief External Affairs Officer, Vice-President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, Associate Vice President of Clinical and Community Services, and the Dean of Students.

With over 200 full-time employees and 55 years since our founding, Erikson has the workforce and experience to achieve its goals and objectives.

Some of Erikson’s recent accomplishments include:

-Erikson launched a reimagined teacher licensure program to now include a triple endorsement. The updated Master of Early Childhood Education degree now embeds curriculum and clinical hours that position graduates to earn additional endorsements from the Illinois State Board of Education. These endorsements include: Early Childhood Birth-2nd Grade, Special Education, and Bilingual/ESL. This program is the first of its kind in the state of Illinois, eliminating the costly and time-consuming practice of “stacking” endorsements which does offer the holistic approach that every child needs. Further, Erikson secured philanthropic funding to offer the Educator Impact Grant, covering all tuition and fees, to eligible students who agree to teach in divested communities post-graduation.

-Erikson’s Center for Children and Families’ (CCF) has remained a constant source of mental health support for the youngest children in communities throughout Chicago during the global Covid-19 pandemic. To provide a continuum of care during the pandemic, CCF adopted a HIPAA compliant video conferencing platform. From July 2020 to June 2021, a total of 319 families were supported by the early childhood mental health and diagnostic services provided by CCF. In 2022, in-person therapy and clinical services were able to resume along with proactive outreach to help support communities in the wake of ongoing gun violence.

-Erikson’s Policy and Leadership Department released the second edition of the Risk and Reach Report in July 2021, which features data that provide a comprehensive, county-by-county analysis of Risk factors that undermine optimal child development for the 916,880 children aged 5 and under in Illinois (7.32% of the state’s population) and compares them to the Reach of publicly funded programs and services that support early childhood well-being. In 2022, the Early Childhood Leadership Academy (ECLA) enrolled a new cohort of Executive Fellows and engaged more than half of ECLA alumni in advancing policy proposals for change across Illinois. Erikson also launched the Decolonizing Language and Data training to widely share knowledge about the impact that words and data have on the people they are describing.

-Erikson has launched the Early Teaching and Learning Academy (the Academy), an intellectual and educational hub that integrates resources and expertise to focus services, research, and advocacy on teaching and learning from birth to eight. In partnership with Illinois State Board of Education’s Department of Early Childhood, the Academy is currently delivering a multi-dimensional professional development system of support to improve kindergarten readiness and bridge pre-k and kindergarten learning. The program will teach corollary practices, routines, and play-based activities that map to the state-mandated Kindergarten Individual Assessment Survey (KIDS) and help the State measure improvement over tim