Demand for early childhood education and care (ECEC) is on the rise across the United States, driven by strong public support and research showing the value of high-quality ECEC services. However, persistent difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified workers, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts, have raised concerns about the field's ability to effectively meet the developmental needs of the nation's diverse young children and their families. As federal, state, and local actors work to address this worker shortage, one pool of potential ECEC professionals is often overlooked: immigrants with relevant college degrees or high school diplomas and work experience obtained outside the United States. Helping these individuals navigate state licensing and job requirements for key roles would support ECEC service providers' efforts to recruit much-needed workers, while bringing in-demand language skills and cultural knowledge to the field. This policy brief examines this issue of skill underutilization within ECEC systems, analyzing foreign qualification recognition policies for key ECEC positions in the 20 states with the largest immigrant populations. It looks at both early childhood teaching positions, for which a college degree is typically a prerequisite, and child-care or day-care positions, for which a high school diploma or equivalent is generally required. The brief highlights policy elements that create difficult (and at times unnecessary) obstacles as well as actions that states can take to ensure their ECEC hiring and licensing processes smartly, fairly, and expeditiously assess the education and other qualifications of potential workers.