Fact Sheets

Careers in Early Childhood National Directory – 5th Edition

This directory was created to introduce you to the variety of careers in the early childhood field. It contains a sampling of different types of employment opportunities in the early childhood education field. Each page includes an overview of a role in our field (such as family specialist/counselor or teacher of young children). It includes a discussion of the role, job possibilities, education recommended for the job and salary ranges as well as information and links to financial aid sources.

Advocacy Tools

ReadyNation

ReadyNation is a membership organization of business leaders who work to strengthen business and the economy through proven investments in children and youth. Peruse ReadyNation’s library of Advocacy Tools to help make the case to business leaders, advocates and policymakers on the importance of early childhood investments.

National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center has worked for 40 years to expand, protect, and promote opportunity and advancement for women and girls at every stage of their lives—from education to employment to retirement security, and everything in between. Learn more about their child care agenda, webinars, presentations, reports and toolkits and more.

Other Tools

National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE), 2010 – 2014

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has been working to shine a spotlight on the importance of our early education workforce in the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE), 2010 – 2014. The survey is documenting the nation’s current utilization and availability of early care and education to better understand how well family’s needs and preferences coordinate with provider’s offerings and constraints. The final report is not yet available but you may be interested in this report, Number and Characteristics of Early Care and Education (ECE) Teachers and Caregivers: Initial Findings from the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE).

McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership

The McCormick Center serves as a voice for the early childhood workforce by advocating for better working conditions and compensation, supporting emerging leaders from under-represented groups, and strengthening professional standards. Find more information about the McCormick Center.

• Learn about their Program Evaluation Tools – The Program Administration Scale (PAS) and The Business Administration Scale for Family Child Care (BAS)

Center for the Study of Child Care Employment

The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) is focused on achieving comprehensive public investments which enable and reward the early childhood workforce to deliver high-quality care and education for all children. They conduct cutting-edge research and propose policy solutions aimed at improving how the nation prepares, supports and rewards the early care and education workforce to ensure young children’s optimal development. Find more information about CSCCE.

• Learn about SEQUAL – a multi-purpose tool for examining and improving environments in which early childhood teaching staff work and learn
• Learn about the Early Childhood Higher Education Inventory – a mechanism to describe the landscape of a state’s early childhood degree program offerings, at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels

Workforce Studies

Are you interested in conducting an early childhood workforce study in your state? Child Care Services Association can help. Find more information on conducting a workforce study in your state.

See an example of a statewide early childhood education workforce study conducted in North Carolina, along with regional Factsheets for the state.

Looking for guidance on conducting a workforce study? Check out: Tackling an Early Childhood Workforce Study: Important Considerations and How to Conduct a Workforce Study in your state.