- | Brief
The focus of this rapid response brief is research published since March 2020 focused on the MIECHV and the broader home visiting workforce, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on this workforce, and available data. We begin with a brief overview of the MIECHV program to provide context for the recent research. We also highlight the complexities in summarizing or doing research on the workforce delivering programs supported by this funding, and discuss the opportunities, challenges, and future research needs related to this workforce. (author summary)
- | Blog
Home visiting expert and former Start Early vice president for training, Janelle Weldin-Frisch, urges system leaders to think about their role to address persistent and pervasive issues of vacancy and turnover in home visiting programs. (author summary)
- | Planning Tool
The Home Visiting and Parent Education System Action Plan calls for better coordination across state funders and across programs to build and maintain a system that remediates racial and economic inequities through the equitable access points, quality, and distribution of services by: – collecting and using data across finders and program models to assure services are targeted where there is need and to measure and track outcomes; – assuring dedicated resources are spent in the most effective way, improving the quality of services through professional development and continual improvement based on family feedback and impact measures; – reducing administrative burden of community service providers who may currently need to report separately to different funders as they combine funding to serve families; and – supporting community level system-building to coordinate all home visiting and parenting education services as well as connect them with other early childhood services such as child care, preschool, health, and mental health to improve family access to services. (author summary)
- | Planning Tool
This tool aims to help Ministries and government agencies reflect on the ways in which they can support personnel delivering home visiting programs across sectors for pregnant mothers and caregivers with children under 3. It is also intended for countries with home visiting programs at either the sub-national or national levels. The tool reflects the overall environment in which the home visiting program operates as well as how it is designed and executed. Additionally, the tool addresses the support that home visitors receive since it impacts the way in which they carry out their tasks on a day to day basis and ultimately influences their relationship with families. (author summary)
- | Blog
This blog describes ways that public insurance financing can enhance access to home visiting services, especially for families with incomes below the federal poverty level. The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) worked with states such as Alabama and Montana to provide targeted technical assistance on how their Medicaid programs can expand coverage of home visiting services.
- | Report
This plan, Strengthening Home Visiting in Los Angeles County, was developed at a time of widespread commitment to supporting families and improving outcomes for young families. It is intended to serve as a blueprint for transformation—a guide for building coordination and strategic investment that our families and future generations deserve. It will serve as a core framework on which to develop and layer more detailed implementation plans for County departments and partners to execute wherein universal home visiting may play a crucial role in a comprehensive set of strategies designed to maximize outcomes for young children and their families. (author summary)
- | Brief
This brief summarizes findings from the Home Visiting Career Trajectories study—a national study of the home visiting workforce—on workplace factors in recruiting and retaining qualified staff. (author summary)
- | Report
The Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (INCCRRA) worked alongside the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Bureau of Home Visiting (BHV) and Start Early to conduct the first Illinois Staffing and Salary Survey of Home Visiting Programs: Fiscal Year 2023. This survey was open to all Illinois home visiting programs, regardless of their funding streams, and utilized quantitative and qualitative analyses to assess the number of home visitors, applicants and their qualifications, home visitor demographics, and the average salaries and benefits offered. Other areas assessed by the survey include information pertaining to fiscal management, enrollment patterns, staff turnover rates, and professional development. (author summary)
- | Report
This report provides an overview of home visiting, how home visiting programs are staffed, challenges programs face in recruiting and retaining home visitors, and evidence-informed strategies for recruitment and retention.
- | Report
This report summarizes survey findings from a national survey of all MIECHV-funded LIAs and and key themes from the case studies of 26 of those LIAs that explored why home visitors enter the home visiting field, why they stay in or leave the field, their backgrounds and job qualifications, their work environment and opportunity for growth and advancement, and staff training experiences and needs. The study findings highlight the factors that support home visitors in their roles and ways in which home visiting staff feel challenged. Together, the survey and case study findings provide insights into the experiences of this diverse and understudied workforce and point to strategies that could further strengthen them. (author summary)