Southeast Chicago

Contact Info

Network Coordinator: Magnolia Rojas-Banda 773/914-3176 rojasbanda@metrofamily.org

Family Engagement Specialist: Adriana Diaz 773/371-3788 diazad@metrofamily.org

Address: Metropolitan Family Services
3062 E. 91st Street
Chicago, IL. 60617

Providing High Quality Care for Pregnant Women and Children

Southeast Chicago All Our Kids Network

The Southeast Chicago AOK Network community sits along the far southeast side of the City of Chicago and includes the neighborhoods of South Chicago, East Side, Hegewisch and South Deering. It is a community rich in culture, resilience, and diversity, home to African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and Caucasian families, as well as many immigrant and multilingual households. Across these neighborhoods are thousands of young children and families working to build healthy futures while navigating significant systemic barriers.

 In Southeast Chicago, approximately 9,112 children are under the age of five. Yet many families face challenges tied to poverty, limited access to healthcare, food insecurity, violence, environmental injustices, and a shortage of affordable, quality childcare. Data collected through the AOK Community Assessment Planning and Action Process revealed alarming disparities: nearly 40% of infants in the community are born into poverty, 12.7% are born with low birth weight, and both the teen birth rate and infant mortality rate far exceed citywide averages. Compounding these concerns, the Southeast side is considered a maternal health desert, with only one hospital in the region offering labor and delivery services.

These realities made one thing clear: families needed stronger systems of support, and organizations could not address these challenges alone.

In 2022, Metropolitan Family Services was awarded funding through the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Early Childhood, to lead the Southeast Chicago All Our Kids Early Childhood Network (Southeast AOK Network). What began as an effort to reinvigorate collaboration among early childhood providers quickly grew into a broader movement focused on building a more connected, responsive, and family-centered system of care for pregnant individuals and families with children birth to five.

Before the Southeast AOK Network came together, many organizations were already doing meaningful work, but often in isolation. Providers relied heavily on emails, phone calls, flyers, and word of mouth to share information about services and programs. Families were frequently left trying to navigate complicated systems on their own, unsure of where to begin, what they qualified for, or how to access the support they needed. While organizations shared a common mission, there were limited opportunities for coordinated planning, shared problem-solving, or collective action.

The Southeast AOK Network changed that.

Since formally launching its collaborative efforts in 2023, the Network has brought together home visiting programs, Early Head Start and childcare providers, healthcare organizations, WIC sites, mental health professionals, schools, libraries, family support agencies, and community organizations around a shared goal: ensuring young children and families have the strongest possible start in life.

Today, the Southeast AOK Network serves as a consistent space where partners come together to share information, identify service gaps, strengthen referrals, and coordinate efforts across the community. Through monthly meetings and shared agenda, organizations that once worked separately are now building relationships and responding to community needs together.

As the Network grows, so does its impact.

One of the Network’s greatest accomplishments has been creating more intentional opportunities for families and community members to connect directly with resources and support systems. Through collaborative efforts with partners, the Southeast AOK Network has hosted community-centered initiatives including resource fairs, Parent Cafés, community baby showers, and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings. These events were designed not only to provide information, but to create welcoming and accessible spaces where families feel supported, heard, and connected.

The Network’s community baby shower brought together healthcare providers, home visiting agencies, WIC programs, and family support organizations to provide expecting and new parents with education, safe sleep information, baby supplies, and direct connections to services. Parent Cafés created safe and supportive environments for caregivers to build relationships, strengthen protective factors, and engage in honest conversations around parenting and community challenges. Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings equipped providers and community members with tools to better recognize and respond to youth mental health needs, helping strengthen awareness and early intervention efforts across the Southeast side.

At the same time, the Network has worked to improve communication and resource-sharing among organizations themselves. The Southeast AOK Resource Directory, monthly newsletters, and coordinated outreach efforts have helped families and providers more easily access updated information about programs and services available throughout the community.

More recently, the Network has expanded its focus toward improving referral coordination and long-term systems alignment through the implementation of the Integrated Referral & Information System (IRIS). Through IRIS, organizations across Southeast Chicago are working together to strengthen communication around referrals, eligibility requirements, program capacity, and service navigation. The goal is to create a more connected referral network where families can move between services more smoothly and providers can better understand and support one another’s work.

This effort has already sparked important conversations among partners about what meaningful referrals look like, where service gaps exist, and how organizations can work together more intentionally to support whole-family needs. Agencies that once only communicated occasionally are now discussing shared standards, collaborative outreach, and long-term strategies for strengthening the overall system of care.

The Southeast AOK Network has also remained committed to ensuring that family voice remains central to its work. Through surveys, feedback opportunities, and relationship-building efforts, caregivers continue to help shape priorities and guide decision-making. Families are not simply recipients of services, but active partners in helping the Network understand what support truly looks like within their community.

Like any collaborative effort, the Network has faced challenges along the way. Coordinating across organizations, identifying accessible spaces for community events, and maintaining consistent engagement can be difficult, particularly in communities where resources are stretched thin. However, these challenges have also strengthened the Network’s commitment to collaboration. As more partners have joined, the Southeast AOK Network has continued to build momentum, bringing new perspectives, ideas, and energy into the work.

Across the Southeast side, collaboration has become stronger, communication between providers has become more intentional, and families have greater opportunities to connect with services and supports close to home. The early results are encouraging: organizations are working together in ways they had not before, community participation continues to grow, and there is a shared commitment to building healthier outcomes for young children and families throughout Southeast Chicago.

Today, the Southeast AOK Network continues to grow as a collaborative space rooted in partnership, trust, and community voice. By bringing organizations together, strengthening systems, and centering families in the conversation, the Network is helping create a future where children and caregivers across Southeast Chicago are not only supported, but truly connected to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.