The National Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Center is a joint research and technical assistance center that equips state and local leaders to drive change in ECE workforce policy. This center builds on the broader efforts of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support the ECE workforce by using a research-to-practice model to advance equitable compensation and career advancement for early educators.
A collective of five partner organizations informed by collaborating partners, ECE educators, federal agencies, and other advisory bodies, the National ECE Workforce Center is committed to establishing equity and justice for the ECE workforce by addressing the fundamental need for changes to ECE career advancement systems, compensation, and workplace policies that reflect the value and skills the workforce provides to our communities. We view these as key mechanisms for facilitating the successful recruitment and retention of a diverse, qualified, effective workforce and critical to providing high-quality experiences for children and families across all ECE settings and programs.
Our guiding principles ensure our work centers the experiences of educators in the field and draws attention to the harmful historical and current impacts of racism and sexism on the ECE workforce.
National ECE Workforce Center Principles
Principle 1
We highlight workforce strengths and assets using historical and intersectional perspectives that are culturally grounded and forward-focused
Principle 2
We commit to equity as a process and an outcome for the center. We examine barriers and call out the harmful impacts of racism and sexism on the ECE workforce. We strive to dismantle inequitable systems working with the ECE professionals in our field.
Principle 3
We center and prioritize educators’ voices and leadership. We are partners from conceptualization through dissemination across research and TA and engage educators in developing transformational solutions.
Principle 4
We promote a culture of innovation by using feedback loops to continuously strengthen our processes and identify opportunities to improve our work.
Principle 5
We draw on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives to inform the center’s work. We rely on collaboration and unique perspectives from across the field to generate new and better solutions for the ECE workforce.
Key Topics
The foundation of our work is based on five key policy areas, or key topics, sourced from the Early Childhood Workforce Index created by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE).
Compensation & Financial Relief Strategies
Initiatives and investments to ensure compensation equal to the value of early educators’ work
Financial Resources
Public investment in the ECE workforce and broader ECE system
Qualifications & Educational Support
Policies and pathways that provide consistent standards for educators to achieve higher education
Work Environment Standards
Standards for providing safe and supportive work environments for early educators
Workforce Data
State-level collection of important data on the size, characteristics, and working conditions of the ECE workforce
Our Focus
Our work is guided by the center’s “Change Framework,” a blueprint for how to drive change in ECE workforce policies and systems. Using the Change Framework to identify key levers and drivers for sustained change, we are currently prioritizing work around Compensation & Financial Relief Strategies and Qualifications & Educational Support—key topics that represent the most pressing needs of the field and are most closely tied to the systemic inequities we seek to address.
Our Approach
The National ECE Workforce Center’s research-to-practice model supports local and state leaders in implementing ECE systems change to improve equitable career pathways, work environments, and compensation systems and strategies for the workforce. Teams of researchers, technical assistance specialists, and communicators bring content expertise, consultation, tools, and thought partnership to states and communities through intensive, targeted, and universal approaches—while ensuring the center’s research and resources get in the hands of people who can use them. Using this integrated approach, our teams can be nimble and responsive to the needs of the field and ensure the strategies, resources, and tools promoted by the National ECE Workforce Center are based on the latest evidence and draw on experts and strategic partners.
Some examples of our intensive, targeted, and universal approaches include:
Intensive
Our team is launching Action Research Partnerships, or collaborations with states and localities that will lend our technical assistance and research capabilities to teams working on discrete issues that will drive change for ECE career advancement systems, compensation, and workplace policies. We will also use Action Research Partnerships to build evidence about what works to fundamentally shift systems in support of the ECE workforce and disseminate that evidence to the larger field.
Targeted
Through targeted engagements, we aim to facilitate shared learning opportunities around current needs that arise in the field. In the center’s first year, we engaged more than 320 leaders in Communities of Practice cohorts focused on strategies such as developing wage and salary scales and creating partnerships and pathways to support degree attainment. We also developed a set of tools for ECE program leaders and higher education leadership designed to support implementation of Grow Your Own strategies in communities.
Universal
With an eye toward national progress, we develop resources and tools intended to bolster capacity and leadership in all states and localities. For example, our Foundational Technical Assistance Series uses the center’s five key topics to 1) identify leadership needs and interests to advance transformative ECE workforce policies, practices, and programs and 2) apply effective processes and levers (e.g., networks, beneficiary voice, data) in tailoring strategies to transform the ECE workforce. Watch the webinar recordings in sequence to learn about leadership processes and levers that lead to action. And look out for forthcoming research-to-practice briefs that translate evidence to action.
🔎 Connect & Learn More
Stay connected to keep up to date with the latest happenings at the National ECE Workforce Center!
- Follow, Like, Share, and Comment on our social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X
- Be sure to visit our YouTube page. There, you will find recordings of previous events and learn more about “the why” behind our work from leaders in the ECE field.