Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 August 13, 2026

Contact: Luci Manning, 202-374-1974

 Child Care Trust report grades every state on the systems needed to build a stable child care workforce 

WASHINGTON, D.C.  Child care workforce shortages are restricting provider capacity and limiting how many families can access care. “Toward a Competent, Stable Child Care Workforce: Establishing the Child Care Profession and the Systems to Support It” from The Child Care Trust grades all 50 states and DC on whether they have the systems in place to build up the child care workforce and finds that even the highest-scoring states have significant work left to do.

“States have proven they can build strong individual programs for the child care workforce, but the problem is that these programs rarely connect into a single system,” said Child Care Trust Executive Director Linda Smith. “A competency framework that is not tied to a registry or a registry that is not tied to compensation, will not professionalize this field on its own. States need to treat workforce development as one connected system, not a collection of separate initiatives.”

Child care workers are paid less than workers in most other occupations in the country. Federal labor data shows that 67 percent of child care worker jobs pay less than $15 an hour, a lower share than fast food workers, cashiers, and dishwashers. That instability drives high turnover: a multi-state study of workforce registry data found only 56 percent of child care workers active in 2023 remained in the field two years later.

The Trust’s analysis builds on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s “Top-Down, Bottom-Up: Building a State Child Care Center Workforce,” which identified 10 steps states can take to professionalize the child care workforce, from defining workforce roles and competencies to building sustainable financing for compensation. The Trust used those 10 steps as a scorecard, in each case reviewing public documentation and then sharing draft results with state Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) administrators for review before finalizing rankings.

Key Findings

• States scored an average of 18 out of a possible 28 points, just under two-thirds of what a fully built workforce system requires.
• Colorado and Illinois tied for the top rank with 26 points each. Wyoming ranked lowest, with 7 points.
• Every state has made some investment in its child care workforce, and nearly all have published workforce competency frameworks and stood up workforce registries. But only 12 states have compensation programs substantial, accessible, and sustained enough to meaningfully improve recruitment and retention. Six states — Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — have no funded compensation program at all.
• Only 25 states have implemented a sustainable financing strategy, such as a trust fund or dedicated tax revenue, for workforce initiatives. Only 10 states use robust, system-level cost modeling to guide long-term planning.
• Twenty-six states do not require everyone working in licensed child care to participate in a workforce registry, and 40 states do not regularly publish workforce data in public reports.

Recommendations

• States: Prioritize Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Quality Set-Aside funds for workforce investments with measurable outcomes and require statewide workforce registry participation.

• HHS: Require states to itemize how Quality Set-Aside funds are spent and to support technical assistance for child care leadership roles.
• Congress: Direct a U.S. Government Accountability Office study, ahead of the anticipated CCDBG reauthorization, of whether state quality investments are producing measurable results.

Methodology

Child Care Trust staff reviewed publicly available state laws and regulations, agency websites, FY2025–2027 CCDF Plans, workforce registries, market rate surveys, and other state-funded reports and studies. Each state was scored across 10 steps, with up to three bonus points available for innovative workforce strategies, for a possible total of 28 points. Draft scorecards were shared with state CCDF administrators for review prior to finalizing rankings.

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About the Child Care Trust

The Child Care Trust™ is a nonpartisan research and policy organization dedicated to understanding and addressing the nation’s child care crisis. Backed by Child Care Aware® of America, the Trust will develop real-world solutions, informed by data and research, for how America funds, organizes, and sustains quality child care.