Our Mission
ECEC’s mission is to champion high-quality early care and education for all children across America. We advocate for strong federal and state policies that ensure access, affordability, and safety, working to build a sustainable, equitable system that brings quality to scale.
We are a Nonprofit Alliance of:
Our Vision
ECEC envisions a country where every family has access to the quality child care and learning that meets their unique needs, which is essential to sustain and grow a thriving economy.
For ECEC members, ensuring quality is always the foundation of child care and early learning. Our families demand it, and our providers deliver it.
What We Do
Advocating for Good Public Policy
ECEC champions good public policy that expands child care access and affordability for families, supports and strengthens the early childhood workforce, preserves and expands true mixed delivery pre-K systems, modernizes licensing and child care systems, and develops both incentives for businesses to share the child care cost burden and pathways to expand provider growth.
Expanded Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (CDCTC) effective 2026
Increased, reliable funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
Secured significant increase of Sec. 45F Employer-Provided Child Care Credit
135,000+
Children served
via CCDBG
32,000+
Children in
public Pre-K
Our ECEC providers ensure quality is always the foundation of child care and early learning.
Safe, Secure, Convenient Facilities & Manageable Classroom Sizes
ECEC providers operate in urban, suburban, rural, and exurban communities — embedded in local economies and on family commuting routes, giving parents real choice.
Exceed licensing requirements for safety
Exceed baseline provider-to-child ratios, supporting more individualized attention
Quality Learning Environments
Early care is treated as the start of a child’s educational journey, with research-backed curriculum aligned to state early learning standards.
of ECEC Centers Nationally Accredited
(compared to <6% of all licensed centers nationwide)
of all NAEYC-accredited centers are ECEC providers
Better-Supported Teachers and Staff
Our ECEC providers offer median teacher pay equal to or higher than national and state averages and 100% offer internal training and health insurance.
Fund CDA
+ college tuition
Provide coaching/ mentoring
Include pre-service training
Blended Funding Streams
ECEC providers draw from multiple funding streams to expand access, broaden eligibility, and support curriculum and learning improvements for children and families.
Private investment supports growth, innovation, and family choice while maintaining quality
