The Early Head Start Home-Based Option stands out among evidence-based home visiting models for its positive impacts on parenting practices, child development, and family economic self-sufficiency, specifically parents’ engagement in education and training. A healthy and stable workforce is key to delivering Early Head Start (EHS) home visiting services; however, high staff turnover is common in this field. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about the stability and quality of the workforce prompted researchers to investigate reasons why home visitors leave their jobs (Begic, Weaver, and McDonald 2019; Dmytryshyn et al. 2015; Franko et al. 2019; Sandstrom et al. 2020). Recent efforts have identified possible strategies to support staff recruitment and retention, including workplace supports such as reflective supervision, coaching, and targeted training, as well as improvements in workplace culture. Yet EHS program service implementation varies widely, as does its home visiting workforce and their backgrounds. Little research has documented what supports are available to EHS home visitors and how these supports shape their professional well-being and their programs’ ability to retain qualified staff members.

We will use two recent data sources to examine questions related to the EHS workforce and specifically home visitors: the Head Start Program Information Report (PIR) collected annually from every Head Start and Early Head Start program (except in 2019—20) and the 2018 Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES), a nationally representative descriptive study of EHS programs, centers, home visitors, teachers, and the children, families, and pregnant women they serve. Together, these two data sources provide a detailed picture of the EHS home visiting workforce. (author abstract)