National Early Care and Education Workforce Center

Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Current as of:
  • The Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the launch of the National Early Care and Education Workforce Center (the Center) on January 31, 2023.
  • The Center is the result of a $30 million investment to support research and technical assistance for states, communities, territories, and tribal nations, to improve the recruitment and retention of a diverse and qualified workforce across early care and education programs.
  • ACF conducted a competitive award process to identify the organizations best equipped to launch and implement the Center for the next five years.  Child Trends, along with partner organizations, the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, BUILD Initiative, Zero to Three, University of Massachusetts-Boston, and the University of Delaware, won the cooperative agreement to carry out the Center’s critical work.
  • ACF hosted a voluntary, pre-application webinar on September 21, 2022, to highlight the information provided in the National Early Care and Education Workforce Center Notice of Funding Opportunity: HHS-2022-ACF-OOC-TA-0002 . This webinar highlights key sections in the application and opting not to participate in the webinar will not affect eligibility, application scoring, or the selection process. Applicants unable to attend can access the recording here.
  • On September 13, 2022, the Administration for Children and Families released a new funding opportunity to increase the recruitment and retainment of a diverse, qualified, and effective workforce across all Early Care and Education (ECE) settings and programs through rigorous research and providing effective technical research. The Center will focus on various ways to establish systems and strategies to increase opportunities for higher education or career pathways, increase compensation and improve policies.