Policymakers and practitioners are increasingly interested in using wage supplement strategies to address pervasively low compensation in the child care and early education (CCEE) field. This document describes how and why a wage supplement may lead to positive outcomes for the CCEE field--like improved retention and reduced turnover--through a "theory of change" model. This brief highlights the potential inputs and activities that may need to be in place to achieve the outcomes of interest. It also outlines a reflection exercise to help CCEE system leaders and strategy developers identify where in their own theory-of-change model additional planning and consideration is needed and, when their theory-of-change model is complete, can inform how to evaluate that strategy.