This article presents important highlights in the development of early care and education in the United States from 1911 to 2005. It was in 1911 when the United States Children's Bureau was created and in 1932 the Works Progress Administration (WPA) paid for nursery schools as a way of providing employment for unemployed teachers. In 2000-2005, there was a dramatic increase in state-level quality initiatives, career development initiatives, and partnership projects. Professional Development Initiative in the states, begun in 1991 by Wheelock College to create workable early childhood systems in states, is picked up by NAEYC.