Early Childhood Workforce Index 2020

Despite their important and complex work, early educators have faced low wages and unsafe working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report demonstrates that compensation within the early childhood education (ECE) workforce is uneven across states and among different classifications of early educators (i.e. child care workers, preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers). It also recommends policies to improve ECE jobs, including initiatives to ensure compensation equal to the value of early educators' work, child care assistance for low-income workers, and paid sick leave policies.