SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA)– Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has a goal to make sure Illinois is the place people come to raise a family.

He wants to start by expanding universal home visiting services for vulnerable kids by 2025. Home visitors travel to houses to give support to families who may need help and education about pregnancy and childcare.

They teach families about things like safe sleeping habits, healthcare, and nutrition. They also connect families to necessary services like WIC and Medicaid.

Pritzker says these services are apart of his new plan to prioritize children before they are school age.

“At-risk children who participated in one high quality, voluntary nurse home visiting program had significantly better cognitive and vocabulary scores by age 6. And by third grade, they had higher scores in math and reading than at-risk children who had no home visitation. Think about the difference that would make,” Pritzker said.

The administration also hopes these services will keep children from being left home alone when parents have to work.