Since 2015, with the support of foundation funding, the Center has supported state teams as they move the needle on workforce compensation and address barriers to higher education. This past year, COVID-19 was the challenge that no one anticipated. In spite of it, and in some ways because of it, state teams in Alabama, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio and Rhode Island made significant gains. While the scope of the project did not change as a result of the pandemic, the states and the Center needed to pivot quickly to address the immediate impact of COVID-19 on early childhood educators and early childhood education programs. (author abstract)