Taxonomies are a well-established analytic tool in the sciences used for forming and refining concepts, discovering underlying dimensions and creating categories for classification and measurement. (Collier et al 2012). The objective of this study was to develop a validated taxonomy that could allow researchers to analyze dementia care training (DCT) policies across the United States and explore associations between state policy scores and CMS quality measures sensitive to dementia care to identify areas for improvement in DCT.