John Meixner, Regional Superintendent of Schools
Fulton | Hancock | McDonough | Schuyler

ROE26 IRIS Community Collaboration

IRIS User Login


Contact Information

Christine Nicholson
IRIS Community Champion
339 S. Johnson Street
Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 731-4395
[email protected]

Mandy Kreps
IRIS System/Data Manager
339 S. Johnson Street
Macomb, IL 61455
(309) 575-3253
[email protected]

Our Story

Mandy Kreps, SEL Family Support Specialist with the ROE26 LEAP program, and Christine Nicholson,  Director of the ROE26 Early Beginnings program, are excited to partner with Birth to Five Illinois and the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research to bring Integrated Referral and Intake System (IRIS) to Fulton, Hancock, McDonough, and Schuyler counties.

In providing Early Beginnings services to families, Christine has seen the barriers that can prevent families from engaging with services that are available to them.  As a program director, she understands the value in organizations being well connected.  A streamlined, consistent referral and intake process helps organizations identify clients interested and eligible for services.  

During the fall of 2022, Christine grew interested in creating an Early Childhood Collaboration with the purpose of increasing enrollment and retention in early childhood care and education programs.  Christine’s long time friend, Mandy Kreps, had recently been hired by the ROE26 under the LEAP program.  During onboarding and training, Mandy began noticing a need for a more streamlined process for referrals and intake within ROE programs, early childhood programs, and other social service agencies. She values the benefits that come from a healthy, thriving, well-connected community.  Mandy learned of IRIS and the two began having conversations about how these goals could be connected.

Mandy and Christine wrote for a planning grant with Birth to Five Illinois to create an Early Childhood collaboration with the purpose of increasing enrollment and retention in services through implementing an integrated referral and intake system for the ROE26 Region.  This grant was awarded and the ROE26 IRIS Community Collaboration was created.

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