Examining the Mental Health of Early Childhood Professionals and Children Early in the Pandemic

This report developed by the Children’s Equity Project examines data from the 2020 and 2021 administrations of a national survey of early care and education (ECE) professionals—including center-based, home-based, and informal child care providers—about their mental, physical, and financial well-being, including racialized stress, and their awareness of and access to infant and early childhood mental health consultation. Data are disaggregated by ECE professionals’ race/ethnicity, age, income level, program type, and state. This report provides federal and state policymakers (e.g., Congress, Administration for Children and Families, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration, state legislatures, and state agency leaders) with targeted recommendations emphasizing both economic and mental health-focused remedies to address the mental health needs of the ECE workforce coming out of the pandemic. It also provides examples of how some states are working to address issues relevant to the well-being and mental health of the ECE workforce.