March 31, 2026
Despite the importance of the early childhood workforce, policymakers often lack comprehensive data on its composition and stability. State workforce registries (state systems that track information about the early childhood workforce) provide one of the most comprehensive sources of information, including roles, educational attainment, and participation over time.
This report analyzes state workforce registry data from eight states—Illinois, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee—to better understand the structure of the early childhood workforce and workforce retention patterns.