In Ready or Not: Early Care and Education's Leadership Choices 12 Years Later, Goffin and Washington (2019) suggested that one thing that is holding our field back is our dependence on public policy to "lead the way."

They state, "ECE's capacity development and confidence regarding the field's ability to effect deep system changes...is restrained by heavy reliance on disjointed state and federal policies. Public policies are promoted as "saviors", especially for resolving sector-specific problems, serving as substitutes for the adaptive and systems work necessary for realizing the field's collective purpose (p. 48)."

• What are your thoughts on relying on public policy "leading the way?"
• What are some strategies you might implement in your own practices based on this statement?
• What are the adaptive and systems work needed from your perspective?