As California mulls pathways for state funding to grow the economy, research points to ECE as a vital and powerful opportunity. Expanding high-quality ECE would not only generate economic output through the higher earnings of ECE workers, but would have an even greater impact on the state's economy by increasing the employment, earnings, and productivity of parents. Our report describes the current state of the ECE industry in California, including the unique challenges that require public investment in order to reap the full economic potential of high-quality ECE. (author abstract)