The early childhood educator workforce has widely ranging credentials and degrees, qualifications and compensation, typically varying by setting. Yet, there is a national call for aligning and strengthening requirements for preparation of the early childhood workforce to ensure that young children thrive and reach their potential at each stage in their development. This policy brief proposes and describes a pathway model that accomplishes these goals, building on the existing early childhood credentialing and postsecondary degree structure in Illinois to create a seamless system of vertically-aligned preparation for the early childhood workforce with multiple entry and exit paths to fit the needs of this diverse workforce. This policy report details how this pathway model fits in the Illinois context, describes the rationale for its development, and importantly, concludes with recommendations for Illinois policymakers and state agencies, as well as for higher education institutions to continue to develop and advance the early childhood workforce in Illinois.