The State of the Early Childhood Workforce (SECW) Initiative is a groundbreaking multi-year project to shine a steady spotlight on the nation's early childhood workforce. The SECW Initiative is designed to challenge entrenched ideas and policies that maintain an inequitable and inadequate status quo for early educators and for the children and families who depend on them. Through the dissemination of data and analysis, the Initiative identifies new strategies and tracks promising advocacy efforts to secure livable and equitable wages, supportive work environments, and educational opportunities for all early educators. This inaugural edition of the "Early Childhood Workforce Index" marks the launch of the wider SECW Initiative. Beyond the Index, the State of the Early Childhood Workforce Initiative consists of additional resources for advocates, policymakers, researchers, funders, and other stakeholders. This index represents the first effort to establish a baseline description of early childhood employment conditions and policies on a state-by-state basis in order to improve early childhood jobs. Tables are appended.