Build a Strong Early Care & Education Workforce

What’s at Stake

Your state’s economy depends on working parents — and working parents depend on high-quality ECE. But the sector faces severe workforce challenges that undermine the reliable programs families and businesses need.

With turnover rates of 25 to 40 percent in the ECE workforce, families can’t count on consistently staffed programs. Parents miss work or leave jobs, while constant staff changes disrupt young children’s healthy development.

Most ECE programs operate in the private sector, many as women-owned, home-based businesses. Instability doesn’t just hurt families; it threatens the survival of these small businesses, leaving many unable to stay open.

The consequences ripple across the economy:

  • Reduced capacity: Programs can’t stay fully operational without stable staff

  • Lost productivity: Parents miss work or leave jobs, costing employers millions

  • Fewer choices for families: Staff shortages force programs to close, limiting options and lowering quality

  • Higher state costs: Instability in early years drives later spending on special education and remediation

The math is simple: when ECE programs can’t retain staff, parents can’t rely on them. Without stable staffing, many programs cut enrollment or close entirely — and pressure grows for government to step in where small ECE businesses are struggling.

Why This Matters for Young Children & Families

When parents go to work to support their families, they’re trying to do the right thing. And to work, they need programs they can trust with their young children.

Parents choose programs based on trust and stability. When their children spend 40+ hours each week in ECE, they need confidence that the same trusted adults will be there each day. But when programs can’t retain staff, families lose the consistent relationships their children depend on. Constant staff changes create stress and instability — the opposite of what children need in their earliest years.

That instability doesn’t just harm children; it also undermines the trust parents need to leave their child in a program all day so they can work. High turnover forces many parents into a difficult trade-off: put their child in a substandard program or give up the work hours their families rely on to stay self-sufficient.

These parents are working instead of depending on welfare. But constant turnover makes it far more difficult to stay self-sufficient.

Why This Matters to Your State

A strong ECE workforce means stronger workforce participation in your state. When parents know their children are thriving in stable programs, they can focus better on their jobs — raising productivity and cutting absenteeism.

Unlike K–12, building the ECE workforce doesn’t mean creating government jobs. Instead, it means strengthening the private-sector programs that give families real choice.

Market-based solutions to stabilize the ECE workforce deliver:

  • A stronger small-business sector led by women entrepreneurs

  • Reduced welfare dependency as families become self-sufficient

  • Increased tax revenues from more working parents

  • Lower future costs for special education and remediation through more stable, higher-quality early learning

States that let ECE workforce instability persist risk a double disadvantage: small-business ECE programs falter, and other businesses lose millions when their employees can’t find reliable programs. Meanwhile, states that invest in a stable ECE workforce gain a competitive edge — attracting the companies and workers needed for growth.

The Vision

A strong ECE sector built on small-business success, not government expansion. Talented entrepreneurs run stable programs that parents choose and trust. These programs attract and keep capable staff through market competition, giving families real choice among diverse options that reflect their values.

The result: Workforce stability drives quality. Parents choose with confidence, children thrive in stable programs, and small ECE businesses flourish by competing for families. 

Your state builds economic strength through small-business entrepreneurship, parent empowerment, and financially self-sufficient families — not bigger government.

How States Can Lead

The goal: Build a talented ECE workforce that earns parental trust while effectively supporting young children's development. This requires a dynamic sector driven by small business ownership rather than government.

Two market-based strategies can build the ECE workforce without expanding government control:

The Bottom Line

These strategies work together: competitive compensation attracts talent; practical training ensures quality. Both strengthen the market and expand parent options without government takeover.

Go to the first strategy for this goal ⟶ Incentivize talent with better pay