Foreign Qualifications Pose Barriers for Immigrants in Early Childhood Education

The U.S. early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector is facing critical workforce shortage, further strained by obstacles that immigrants encounter in having their foreign qualifications recognized. Although immigrants make up nearly 20% of the 1.7 million-strong ECEC workforce, they are often underutilized due to regulatory barriers, according to a new report by the Migration Policy Institute.

Key challenges include the lack of uniform policies across states and high costs associated with credential evaluation. For example, while all 20 states with large immigrant populations require credential evaluations for foreign degrees, most do not recognize foreign high school diplomas or work experience gained abroad. Applicants often face additional testing requirements, including English proficiency exams, making it harder for highly skilled immigrants to enter the profession.

California, New York, and New Jersey, home to some of the largest immigrant populations, explicitly deny recognition of foreign work experience. This leaves many immigrants unable to leverage their qualifications, forcing them to repeat training or seek less regulated, lower-paying jobs.

The report also underscores the importance of immigrants' linguistic and cultural skills, particularly as a quarter of U.S. children under five are from immigrant families. Yet, immigrants in ECEC are disproportionately concentrated in lower-paying roles, such as family-based child care, which often lack formal credentialing requirements. These roles limit opportunities for advancement and further exacerbate workforce shortages in higher-skill positions.

The authors call for policy reforms to increase transparency in their processes, reduce costs associated with qualification recognition, and expand pathways to include education and work experience obtained abroad. Examples of solutions include Pennsylvania's reimbursement program for credential evaluation fees and the inclusion of streamlined policies that address foreign work credentials.

Without significant policy adjustments, the report suggests that the ECEC field may continue to struggle in addressing workforce shortages while underutilizing the skills of immigrant workers.