The five policy levers are derived from the recommendations of the recent National Academy of Medicine report, “Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth through Age 8.” This report calls for a unifying foundation for all lead educators, including center directors, elementary school principals, and family child care providers, of a minimum of a bachelor’s degree with substantial content knowledge and competency in child development/early childhood education. Additional competencies, depending on role, are also required. The five policy levers and the scoring rubric address the need for early childhood program leaders across sectors to have a BA degree, and competencies in both child development/early childhood education and program administration. The goal of reporting the states’ overall policy levers score is to encourage thought leaders, policymakers, and advocates to tear down the silos and take a cross-sector, systems approach to improving the qualifications, competencies, and on-going professional development of early childhood program leaders.
