Resources
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Early Educator Wage Growth Under Massachusetts’ C3 Program
This analysis examines wage growth among center-based early care and education (ECE) programs, using monthly application data submitted by nearly 3,000centers from July 2021 to September 2024. The study found that C3 likely helped educators amidst broad inflation and supported wage growth—but meaningful gaps remain, and ensuring compensation reflects the true value of this work…
Published 2026
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Designing a Wage Increase Pilot: A Framework for Supporting Early Educators in Contra Costa County
This report provides a framework for Contra Costa County to launch a wage supplement pilot. The concept includes details on a proposed pilot design and a framework for pilot implementation, evaluation, and budget.
Published 2025
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Child Care Workforce Retention Incentives
This evidence review from the Prenatal to Three Policy Center outlines how workforce incentives can help reduce turnover and create stronger and more engaging teaching environments for educators and children.
Published 2025
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Aspects of Well-being for the Child Care and Early Education Workforce
This highlight describes various aspects of child care and early education (CCEE) workforce well-being that have been discussed in recent research and shares examples of interventions or initiatives that promote CCEE workforce well-being.
Published 2024
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Help Wanted: Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Workforce Needs
NIEER developed a survey to collect information from the ECE workforce about their backgrounds, training, knowledge, and experiences in the Early Intervention (EI) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) field. The goal was to obtain a national picture of the EI/ECSE workforce’s education, credentials, pre- and in-service training, and knowledge about EI and ECSE. This…
Published 2024
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Early Education Workforce Supports at Scale
This white paper seeks to outline the opportunity and imperative of building data and research capacity at the state level in Massachusetts specific to improving understanding of the ECE workforce.
Published 2024
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Spotlight on State Actions & Investments in the Early Childhood Workforce
This report outlines state actions and investments in the early childhood workforce during 2024 legislative sessions.
Published 2024
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Spotlight on the Head Start Workforce: Program Strategies to Improve Well-Being and Increase Retention
This brief draws on data from the 2021—2022 Study of Family and Staff Well-Being in Head Start FACES Programs (2021—2022 Study) to examine the strategies programs used to improve staff retention and well-being. Using data collected in spring 2022 after more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, this brief describes the types of strategies…
Published 2024
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Supporting the Professional Development of Infant and Toddler Teachers and Caregivers
This brief describes how defining the competencies that are essential for infant/toddler teachers and caregivers may help improve hiring, professional development, and workforce support practices, all which promote high-quality care for children. It also explains how online professional development systems may support competency development in infant/toddler teachers and caregivers.
Published 2023
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The Effects of Financial Incentives on Teacher Turnover in Early Childhood Settings: Experimental Evidence from Virginia
This report summarizes findings from an evaluation of a unique financial incentive program for early educators launched in Virginia in 2019. The evaluation provides the first-ever experimental evidence on whether offering financial incentives to early educators led to reductions in turnover. Researchers found pronounced effects on teacher turnover, particularly among child care teachers.
Published 2021