Our new permanent website is launching March 27!
We work in partnership with the
early care and education workforce.
About the National ECE Workforce Center
The National Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Center is a joint research and technical assistance center. This center builds on the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) broader efforts to support the early childhood workforce by identifying effective policies and strategies through research and evaluation, translating lessons from research for practice, and supporting innovations in states and communities through technical assistance.
This website serves as the temporary home for the National ECE Workforce Center. A fully-developed site will be launched in 2024.
"The National Early Care and Education Workforce Center will help states and localities support early care and education professionals—and, in doing so, support working families."
- January Contreras, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Our Focus
The National ECE Workforce Center’s research, technical assistance, and other efforts are designed to examine and address the need for fundamental changes to ECE career advancement systems, compensation, and ECE workplace policies. We view these as key mechanisms for facilitating the successful recruitment and retention of a diverse, qualified, and effective workforce and essential to providing high-quality early care and education experiences for children and families across all early care and education settings and programs.
The foundation of our work is based on the five key policy areas highlighted below sourced from the Early Childhood Workforce Index created by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE).
Key Policy Areas
Qualifications & educational supports
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.
Compensation
& financial relief strategies
Initiatives and investments to ensure compensation equal to the value of early educators' work.
Workforce data
State-level collection of important data on the size, characteristics, and working conditions of the ECE workforce.
Financial resources
Public investment in the ECE workforce and broader ECE system.
Selected Resources
A selection of resources for the early care and education workforce. A comprehensive resource library is in development and will be available on our permanent website. Visit Our Current Resources Page
Events
Educator Voices on Grow Your Own Community-Driven StrategiesMar 13, 2024, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM EDTZoom- Intro to the Integrated Research & Policy FellowshipMar 07, 2024, 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM ESTZoom
“Our aim is to strengthen early care and education systems, policies, and practices via applied research and innovative technical assistance so that the workforce, families, children, and the country thrive.”
- Dr. Chrishana Lloyd,
Research Scholar, Early Childhood Development, Child Trends
Co-Director (Research), ECE Workforce Center
Get Involved
Early Educator Board
We are developing an Early Educator Board to ensure that the work of the National ECE Workforce Center is meaningful and impactful to the workforce.
Serving as thought partners and advisors, this board will contribute to activities across research and technical assistance and will be composed of teachers representing settings across the sector, including home-based programs, Head Start, community-based centers, tribal child care programs, and state preschools. Board members will receive honorariums.
Please stay tuned for more information.
For questions email
Integrated Research & Policy Fellowship
The National Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Center is recruiting four fellows for our Integrated Research & Policy Fellowship. The 10-month program, running from May 2024 to February 2025, focuses on the development of emerging leaders and the integration of research and policy/practice.
This part-time program with a stipend of $12,500 aims to cultivate expertise in early childhood workforce policy and practice and to support fellows in applying research to real-world solutions.
There are two tracks, each with two fellows: Ideal candidates for the research track are currently enrolled graduate students in fields related to ECE, while policy track applicants are current professionals such as early educators or others active in the ECE sector.
The application period has now closed.
Foundational Technical Assistance Series
Join the National Early Care and Education (ECE) Workforce Center for the Foundational Technical Assistance (TA) Series starting October 23rd.
The series is designed for early childhood leaders seeking to strengthen the early care and education workforce through innovations in policies, programs, working conditions, compensation, and professional development.
Participants will learn how to apply effective processes and levers to tailor strategies to transform the ECE Workforce and also hear about successful strategies from states and the National ECE Workforce Center’s collaborating partners.
The Foundational TA Series will occur at 2pm ET on the following dates: 10/23, 11/27, 1/ 22, 2/26, 3/25, and 4/22
Partner Organizations
The National ECE Workforce Center is a collaborative of six core partners, nine collaborative partners that provide consultation support, and ECE educators that will advise across activities. Each partner will continue to maintain a portfolio of independent work within their own organizations while collectively bringing decades of expertise to the National ECE Workforce Center.
Child Trends promotes the well-being of all children and youth through applied research that informs public policies, builds the evidence base for what works, and mines data to identify young people who are overlooked or ill served by public systems.
The BUILD Initiative partners with state leaders to promote equitable, high-quality child- and family-serving systems that result in young children thriving and learning.
CSCCE provides research and analysis on the preparation, working conditions, and compensation of the early care and education workforce. They develop policy solutions and create spaces for teaching, learning, and educator activism.
The Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood improves the lives of young children and their families by providing exemplary services for the early childhood community. They conduct research that helps to advance equity and promote high-quality education.
The Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation builds a leadership development ecosystem to cultivate, sustain, and elevate early educator leadership that reflects the racial and linguistic diversity of the early care and education workforce.
ZERO TO THREE translates expertise in the science of early childhood development into pioneering programs, field-leading training and resources, and responsive policy solutions.
