Building an early childhood system within the District is similar to efforts taken to complete an intricate puzzle. Imagine having to assemble a 5,000-piece puzzle without access to the box depicting its final image. The puzzle must be constructed without an organized leader by a group of people who speak different languages. Moreover, a significant number of puzzle pieces necessary for the puzzle's completion are nowhere to be found. While tremendous progress has been made on sections of the puzzle, the challenges listed above must be addresses in order to succeed. In order to best position infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to succeed, the District must leverage the collective impact of early childhood programs and initiatives as part of a larger, coordinated system. By synthesizing past and ongoing stakeholder discussions on approaches to creating a strong early childhood system in the District, this white paper highlights three essential infrastructure pieces that are needed to fully assemble this puzzle: (1) Shared Services; (2) Centralized Intake and Referral; and (3) Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS). These three infrastructure pieces promote quality programs and services; streamline processes, and reduce burdens on providers, families and government agencies. This paper offers nine recommendations relating to these three infrastructure pieces.