Workforce Development

First 5 LA is committed to improving the quality of Early Care and Education (ECE) services provided to young children by addressing the challenges the ECE workforce faces. The ECE Workforce Development Initiative (Initiative) supports First 5 LA's Early Learning Goal of improving children's attainment of their developmental potential. The Initiative is multifaceted in order to address the needs of the continuum of the ECE workforce and focuses on supporting potential and current ECE providers entering and/or moving through the ECE career lattice. The $15 million Initiative is designed to promote career opportunities in the ECE field, increase the supply of ECE providers, promote policy and advocacy activities to affect the systemic issues impacting long-term capacity of the ECE workforce and promote public education activities to improve awareness of the ECE field and the importance of the services it provides.

The Initiative is comprised of multiple components that are designed to work in coordination to achieve the goals of the Initiative. The Initiative consists of the following components:

Families, Friends & Neighbors: The goal of Families, Friends & Neighbors (FFN) is to increase the training and education levels of the license-exempt ECE workforce. First 5 LA currently funds six FFN grantees.

High School Recruitment Program: The goal of the High School Recruitment Program (HSR Program) is to increase the supply of young ECE professionals who are more reflective of the population of children receiving ECE services in LA County. HSR Programs provide high school students with information, resources and internship opportunities in the ECE field. First 5 LA currently funds five HSR Program grantees.

ECE Workforce Policy Project: The ECE Workforce Policy Project (Project) consists of three of the Initiative components: Career Development; Access to Higher Education and Training; and Sustainability: Compensation and Retention. These three components will be implemented as three interrelated strategies to achieve and strengthen the impact of the Initiative's policy goals. The goal of the Project is to increase the training and education levels, supply and diversity of the ECE workforce through policy changes.

Public Education: The goal of the Public Education activities is to improve the public perception of early care and education professionals and encourage more people to choose early care and education as a career path.