Since 2023, students in South Dakota have had the opportunity to work toward a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential while pursuing a high school diploma. This program was designed to create a new pipeline of qualified educators who can help alleviate a staffing shortage in early education programs across the state. Students participate in online or in-person coursework and complete at least 480 hours of supervised work in an early education program. A CDA credential typically costs about $800, but high school students are able to obtain it for free. This program derives from recommendations generated by the Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative and is administered through a partnership between Educators Rising SD, the South Dakota Department of Social Services, Sanford CHILD Services, and the federal Department of Education Head Start Collaboration Office. Learn More: South Dakota High School Pathways Sources: Huber, M. (2023, July 12). South Dakota High School Course Trains Students to Become Child Care Workers. The 74. Sioux Falls Childcare Collaborative. (2023). Community Childcare Initiative Final Report.EditSign

In June 2024, Governor Jared Polis signed HB 1312, creating a refundable state income tax credit of $1,200 for qualifying early childhood professionals, as well as certain other types of workers. With this tax credit, Colorado aims to boost the recruitment, retention, and income of care workers. The program is funded for tax years 2025 through 2028.   Among the early childhood workforce, the tax credit is available to employees and operators of licensed child care centers, licensed family child care homes, and family, friend, and neighbor care providers registered with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood’s Professional Development Information System. To be eligible, they must have an income of $75,000 or less for single filers or $100,000 or less for joint filers.   This tax credit differs from the Early Childhood Educator Income Tax Credit, created in 2022, which offers a refundable income tax credit up to $1,500 for credentialed early childhood educators in Colorado.  learn more: State Income Tax Credit for Child Care Providers Sources: Colorado Department of Early Childhood. (n.d.). Care Worker Tax Credit. Colorado Senate Democrats. (n.d.). Gov Signs Family Affordability Tax Credit, Bill to Support the Care Workforce.

In 2017, San Miguel County voters approved a ballot measure to create a dedicated funding stream for early childhood systems and services in the county; 63% of voters approved the measure, which increased the local property tax by .75 mill. In 2021, the levy generated $484,991.  The fund is managed by the Strong Start program, an initiative of local nonprofit Bright Futures. Revenue is dedicated to four priorities: increasing the capacity of early education programs; recruiting, training, and retaining early childhood professionals; improving the quality of early care and education programs; and providing financial assistance to families. This includes salary supplements to support teacher retention, scholarships for teachers to pursue continuing education, and need-based financial aid for families, among other priorities.  learn more: strong start Sources: Loschert, K. (2022, November 8). Children’s Fund Spotlight: Strong Start, San Miguel County, CO. Children's Funding Project. Bright Futures. (n.d.). Strong Start Overview.

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) started the StrongStart initiative in phases, beginning in Summer 2019. The five StrongStart Professional Development Centers (PDCs) are administered by the Institute for Early Education Leadership and Innovation. PDCs provide the state’s early education and out-of-school time workforce with training and technical assistance services. Professional development offerings include professional learning communities (PLC) and one-on-one coaching. PLCs consist of a facilitated group of educators and administrators who meet regularly to exchange expertise. One-on-one coaching is offered to family child care (FCC) owners, out-of-school time administrators, and center directors to work on all aspects of managing an early education program including curriculum development, quality improvement, and other strategies for meeting the needs of staff, families, and children. Coaches meet with participants for up to 20 hours over eight weeks, and coaching is offered in Cantonese, English, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish. StrongStart also offers a web-based tool that provides professionals with a credentialing system, a professional registry, and a Learning Management System where educators can take courses on a computer or mobile device. Learn More: Massachusetts StrongStart Sources: Massachusetts StrongStart. (n.d.). What We Do. Massachusetts StrongStart. (n.d.). Free coaching for programs. Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. (n.d.). StrongStart Professional Development Centers.

In 1998, Governor Lawton Chiles authorized $2 million to bring the Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) Early Childhood Scholarship Program to Florida. The Children’s Forum, a statewide nonprofit membership organization for early childhood educators and directors, is the authorized administrator. Private funds from the American Business Collaboration for Quality Dependent Care, a partnership of 22 large companies, also supported T.E.A.C.H. in Florida initially.  T.E.A.C.H. is a nationwide program designed to support the educational advancement of teachers, directors and family child care providers working with young children in early learning settings. It focuses on improving the education, compensation, and retention of early educators by offering scholarships for associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in early childhood education, as well as for renewing credentials like the Florida Staff Credential and National Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. Eligible participants include Florida early educators, center directors, and family child care educators who are employed by a licensed or registered program, hold a high school diploma or GED, and who work or volunteer at least 20 hours per week with children ages birth to five.  Scholarship amounts vary according to the type of program, but T.E.A.C.H. generally covers 80-90% of tuition, 90-100% of the cost of books, 85% of any renewal fee, and a $200-$300 stipend per semester. T.E.A.C.H. scholarships also reimburse students’ employers for paid release time at a rate equaling Florida’s minimum wage plus $2.00 per hour.  T.E.A.C.H. is now funded by the Florida Division of Early Learning. In 2024, the state increased funding for the program from $7 million to $17 million.   Since launching in Florida, T.E.A.C.H. has awarded 47,500 scholarships.  learn more: Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) Early Childhood Scholarship Program Sources: TEACH Early Childhood Florida. (n.d.). General Information. TEACH Early Childhood Florida. (n.d.). About Us.  TEACH Early Childhood Florida. (n.d.). Frequently Asked Questions. TEACH Early Childhood National Center. (n.d.). TEACH Early Childhood. Florida Department of Children and Families. (n.d.). Staff Credential. Jacobson, L. (1998, March 18). Rules for Fla. Child Centers Said To Be Beneficial. Education Week.

In 2019, Virginia created the Teacher Recognition Program (now RecognizeB5) to promote the retention and financial well-being of early educators across the state. Through this program, teachers working at least 30 hours per week in public-school or community-based settings serving children birth to age five could receive a payment of $1,500 if they remained in their program for at least 8 months. Educators in all Virginia counties were eligible to participate in the program, but in the state's most populous county, Fairfax County, there were not enough funds to provide a payment to all teachers. This created an opportunity for researchers from the University of Virginia to study the impact of a bonus program on teacher retention and well-being. Using a randomized controlled trial, researchers learned that the bonuses did in fact reduce turnover and increase financial well-being among participating educators. The bonuses cut turnover among educators in child care centers in half, from 30% to 15%, and nearly all educators (98%) reported that the funds helped them meet personal or family needs. The program has since expanded; it provided educators with $3,000 bonuses during the 2022–23 school year. RecognizeB5 was supported through a combination of over $40 million per year in federal and state funding, the primary source being federal COVID recovery dollars. Those funds ended in September 2024. The General Assembly invested $20 million to keep the program running in FY2025, but no state or federal dollars were dedicated to RecognizeB5 in FY2026. Thus there will be no incentive for educators in 2025–26.   Learn More: Virginia Teacher Recognition Program (RecognizeB5) Sources:Virginia Early Childhood Foundation. (2022). RecognizeB5 Overview. Virginia Department of Education. (n.d.). RecognizeB5: VQB5 Educator Incentive. Virginia Department of Education. (2025). Draft Proposal for the 2025-2026 Unified Virginia Quality Birth to Five System (VQB5) Guidelines.

In 2022, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood invested $3 million of Child Care Development Fund funds to conduct a pilot program to increase wages for educators serving children from birth to age five. Approximately 30% of child care programs that apply will be randomly selected to receive funding via a lottery process. This funding will increase educator pay by $1,000 to $1,200 annually. Programs that receive funding must meet the following criteria: - 40% of children enrolled in the program receive Colorado Child Care Assistance Program subsidies - The program holds a Colorado Shines Rating of Level 3 to 5 The success of this pilot program will be measured in terms of its impact on early educator recruitment, retention, and economic well-being. Family child care providers will be eligible for a different pilot program designed for home-based settings, which will launch at a later date. Learn More: Colorado Early Childhood Teacher Salary Increase Pilot Sources: Colorado Department of Early Childhood. (2022).Colorado Early Childhood Teacher Salary Increase Pilot.

Texas’s targeted public pre-K program serves 47% of the state's population of 4-year-olds. To be eligible, children must meet one of a short list of criteria meant to identify and support children experiencing risk factors. Public School Prekindergarten is administered by the Texas Education Administration’s Early Childhood Division and is offered in a combination of public and private settings. Additionally, the State’s House Bill 3, signed into law in June 2019, requires that “all prekindergarten programs offered to eligible four-year-old students be full-day, and meet the high-quality requirements adopted by the legislature in 2015” (TEA, 2022). Texas continued its expansion efforts by launching the Child Care Expansion Initiative in May 2022, which is run by the Texas Workforce Commission. The initiative helps programs open a new location, increase capacity by adding slots, or convert existing slots to infant slots. Learn More: Texas Workforce Commission Child Care Provider Expansion Initiative Sources:National Institute for Early Education Research. (2023). Texas.Texas Education Agency. (n.d.). Prekindergarten Registration and Enrollment.Texas Education Agency. (n.d.). Prekindergarten Program FAQ.

The Texas Education Agency’s Texas Student Data Systems hosts the states’ P-20 longitudinal data system, which includes early childhood data (e.g., public/private pre-K data, assessment results, and staff) since 2019 in addition to other raw and aggregate data from the Public Education Information Management System. The system functions as a central data warehouse and links collections of data across agencies, including data submitted to the reporting tool, the Early Childhood Data System. The system links demographic, program, and individual data spanning childhood education, K-12, higher education, and workforce. The individual data is deidentified with a unique identifier. Data is available internally for agencies and authorized users. The Texas Student Data System has been in development since the early 2000s (S.B. 1 (2002-2003) ),but has included early childhood data only since 2019. The system is largely funded by federal grants and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. Learn More: Texas Student Data System Sources:Texas Student Data System (n.d.). Infographic.Texas Public Education Information Resource. (n.d.). TPEIR Home Page.Texas Education Agency. (n.d.). Early Childhood Data Collection Requirements.The State of Texas. (2003). Text of Conference Committee Report Senate Bill No. 1 (General Appropriations Act).

In June 2022, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) announced a new child care apprenticeship program to address a workforce shortage in the industry. To build a pipeline of skilled teachers, the TWC was awarded three grants totaling $793,401 to create two new early childhood apprenticeship programs and expand one existing program. The grants expand the Camp Fire First Texas program in Tarrant County, create a new program at Dallas College, and create another new program at the Heart of Texas Workforce Development Board, Inc. in Waco. The apprenticeship programs train teachers while offering full-time and paid positions. The grants also assist apprentices who have completed the Registered Apprenticeship Program by transferring their completion certificate into college credit hours, putting them within three to five classes of earning an associate degree. Learn More: Texas Workforce Commission Sources: Texas Workforce Commission. (n.d.). Child Care & Early Learning Services - Program Overview. Texas Workforce Commission. (2022). TWC Awards Grants to Develop Child Care Apprenticeship Programs.

Established in 2021, the Pilot Early Childhood & Special Education Apprenticeship Program in San Francisco is a formal partnership between the City College of San Francisco Child Development and Family Studies Department and San Francisco Unified School District. Apprentices begin as an Early Childhood Teaching Assistant, a Transitional Kindergarten Teaching Assistant or a Special Education Paraprofessional working in pre-K and kindergarten classrooms. All programs include training in special education. The apprenticeship has two tracks that each last up to 34 months, and both lead to an Early Childhood Teaching Permit. The program provides 2,000 hours of on-the-job training, and participants can take courses at City College of San Francisco. The program receives $800,000 in funding from the Strong Workforce Program. Learn More: City College of San Francisco Early Childhood & Special Education Apprenticeship Sources: City College of San Francisco. (n.d.). Early Childhood & Special Education Apprenticeship. City College of San Francisco. (n.d.). Strong Workforce Program Strategic Plan 2020-2023

Maine Governor Janet T. Mills, supported by the Maine Legislature and authorized by the University of Maine System Board of Trustees, invested a share of federal American Rescue Plan relief funds in an early education training program in partnership with the University of Maine at Farmington. To help develop and retain early education professionals, UMF is renovating a former call center into a center for its nationally accredited Sweatt-Winter Child Care and Early Education Center. The Center is expected to open in the summer of 2023 as a state-of-the-art child care and academic facility to train more skilled child care staff to enter and stay in the workforce. Previously, the Sweatt-Winter expansion project received $1.4 million from a bond for UMaine System workforce development infrastructure approved by voters statewide in 2018. The Lennox Foundation also contributed $100,000. Learn more: University of Maine Early Childhood Special Education Sources: University of Maine Farmington. (n.d.). Early Childhood Special Education. State of Maine Office of Governor Janet T. Mills. (2022). At University of Maine Farmington, Governor Mills Highlights Investments to Expand Child Care in Maine, Increase Pay for Child Care Workers.