Catherine Kuhns, Heather Sandstrom, and Laura Betancur
April 2024
Early childhood home visiting can be a rewarding job that makes a meaningful difference
in the lives of young children and families (Sandstrom et al. 2020). Home visitors build
strong relationships and connections with families and find satisfaction in supporting
them as they reach their goals. Yet the role also necessitates working in the field with
families facing a range of adversities and living in potentially unsafe environments.
Some evidence suggests that home visitors who are on the job longer face higher
emotional exhaustion and lower job satisfaction (Gill et al. 2007). Poor work–life
balance and no experience of promotion can also contribute to low job satisfaction and
turnover intentions (Sandstrom et al. 2020). Lower levels of job satisfaction are
associated with higher levels of burnout (Ross et al. 2023), which in turn predicts job
withdrawal (West, Berlin, and Jones Harden 2018) and ultimately compromises client
care and continuity (Salyers et al. 2017).
To better understand the factors that contribute to home visitors’ overall well-being, and
specifically to their job satisfaction, we test one part of a conceptual model of home visitor professional
well-being (Sparr et al. 2022). In this conceptual model, job satisfaction is considered one of four
dimensions of home visitor professional well-being along with psychological well-being, job meaning
and fulfillment, and self-efficacy and confidence. We focus specifically on home visitors in the Early
Head Start program, which saw a spike in program-level turnover during the COVID-19 pandemic,
rising from about 19 percent in 2019 to nearly 29 percent in 2022 (Sandstrom, Kuhns, and Drukker
2024). We use data collected by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the 2022 Early
CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Key Drivers of Job Satisfaction among
Early Head Start Home Visitors
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KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (hereafter Baby FACES; ACF 2023; see box 1) to better
understand the experiences and feelings of Early Head Start home visitors regarding their workplace
environment and their job satisfaction since the pandemic. Our findings shed light on home visitors’
needs and what programs can do to create a supportive workplace.
In this brief, we provide evidence on the Early Head Start home visiting workforce’s mental health,
work stress, perception of organizational climate and personal safety, and supervisory and coaching
opportunities. We then present findings from a multivariate regression analysis showing how factors
associated with job demands—including recent home visitor turnover, work stress, and personal safety
in the field—and job supports—including the capacity to offer virtual visits, coaching, supervision, and
organizational climate—relate to job satisfaction. As covariates in our analysis, we include
characteristics of home visitors and their programs that were found to be important in past research.
These findings offer important insights on key correlates of home visitor job satisfaction. The brief
provides policymakers and practitioners with evidence about factors associated with reduced burnout
in the home visiting workforce.
Key Findings
Analysis of the 2022 Baby FACES data (ACF 2023) revealed important patterns about the Early Head
Start home visitors’ well-being and their job environment. Key findings include the following:
Overall, home visitors were satisfied with their jobs and perceived their programs as having
positive organizational climates.
» Home visitors reported moderately high cohesion, communication, and satisfaction, and
about a moderate level of workplace stress.
» Yet, when asked how often they felt unsafe when conducting home visits, almost half of
home visitors reported feeling threats to personal safety at least some of the time.
The prevalence of clinically significant depressive symptoms among home visitors was low.
Almost 90 percent of home visitors reported no symptoms at all, or low levels of symptoms that
have no clinical significance.
All home visitors reported having one-on-one supervision meetings, and most reported having
regular meetings with a coach.
» Supervisory meetings most commonly took place monthly, but nearly 30 percent of home
visitors reported having supervisory meetings more often (once a week or a few times a
month) and another 30 percent reported having supervisory meetings less often (a few
times a year or once a year).
» About 40 percent of home visitors reported meeting with their coach more than once a
year, and 38 percent reported meeting once a month. Coaches could be supervisors or
other program staff in a coaching role.
KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
3
Lack of personal safety was associated with lower job satisfaction, while high team cohesion
and high communication in the workplace were each associated with higher levels of job
satisfaction, after accounting for relevant demographic and program characteristics.
Introduction
To investigate home visitors’ overall psychological well-being and job satisfaction, researchers have
studied work environment quality, sometimes referred to as organizational climate. This includes the
resources, supports, and relationships that characterize the work environment that make home visitors
feel recognized, cared for, and respected (Sandstrom et al. 2020). Literature suggests that a positive
organizational climate promotes professional well-being and decreases turnover and burnout (Sparr et
al. 2022). One study of home visitors found that those who perceived their organizational climate as
highly effective, efficient, and with reasonable expectations for workloads were less likely to report
feeling burnt out (Lee et al. 2013). Findings from the Home Visiting Career Trajectories project—a
national study of home visitors across programs receiving federal funding from the Maternal, Infant,
and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program—provide evidence that schedule flexibility with options to
telework promote worker job satisfaction and retention (Sandstrom et al. 2020). Additionally, analyses
of the 2018 Baby FACES survey of Early Head Start home visitors found that home visitors who
perceive a positive organizational climate, characterized by high levels of cohesion and communication
and low levels of stress, are more satisfied with their jobs (Jones, Shah, and Xue 2022).
Evidence also suggests that the supervisory relationship is related to job satisfaction for home
visitors. For example, a small study found one protective factor against burnout was having a supportive
supervisor with whom home visitors could communicate openly. This study also found that this type of
relationship promoted professional well-being (Begic, Weaver, and McDonald 2019). Moreover,
reflective supervision, a relationship-based practice in which a home visitor and their supervisor reflect
on the home visitor’s feelings and experiences in their work environment, is shown to be positively
related to job satisfaction (Gallen et al. 2016; Shea et al. 2020; West, Madariaga, and Sparr 2022) and
negatively related to home visitor burnout (Lee et al. 2013). Beyond one-on-one supervisory activities,
having access to training and professional development opportunities (Nathans et al. 2019; Sandstrom
et al. 2020) and increased frequency of coaching (Sparr et al. 2022) are also associated with higher job
satisfaction for home visitors.
Beyond the supervisory relationship, positive relationships with coworkers characterized by high
levels of team support and information sharing predict higher job satisfaction (Sedivy et al. 2020).
Findings from a recent study suggest that cohesion and camaraderie among coworkers increases job
satisfaction and decreases burnout by buffering job stressors associated with working in the early care
and education field (Berlin et al. 2020). These findings align with evidence from a qualitative study of
home visitors in Florida’s Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program who
consistently identified each other as their greatest form of support in dealing with the work-related
stressors (Alitz et al. 2018).
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KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
Safety on the job is also associated with job satisfaction. For example, one study in the home health
care field documented that job-related risks, transportation issues, threats of verbal and physical abuse,
and potential for violence were significantly correlated with home health aides’ job satisfaction and job
retention (Sherman et al. 2008). An evaluation of the California Home Visiting Program showed
personal safety was a concern reported across all sites that participated in the evaluation (Finello,
Terteryan, and Zadouri 2016). Similarly, home visitors in Florida’s Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood
Home Visiting Program listed dangerous environments among the primary stressors they experienced
in their role (Alitz et al. 2018).
Methods
Past research on this topic suggests there are several key drivers of home visitors’ professional well-
being—which includes their job satisfaction—such as resources and supports, flexibility and autonomy,
relationships and connections, compensation, validation and recognition, and job stressors and
demands (Sparr et al. 2022). We examine these drivers post pandemic considering higher-than-average
staff turnover and federal efforts to support workforce recruitment and retention in Head Start and
Early Head Start programs.
1
We analyze newly available data from Baby FACES 2022 (see box 1).
BOX 1
Baby FACES 2022
Baby FACES 2022 (ACF 2023) is a nationally representative descriptive study that provides
information on Early Head Start programs, staff, and children, families, and pregnant mothers served in
the Administration for Children and Families Regions 1–10. It consists of five survey questionnaires
that capture information from program and center directors, lead teachers, home visitors, and parents
from the sampled Early Head Start programs.
For this study, we analyzed data from the program director survey and the home visitor survey. We
include information from the director survey on whether any home visitors left and whether the
program allows virtual visits. We include information from the home visitor survey about home visitors’
supervision, mental health, and perceived safety in the field, and various dimensions of the
organizational climate (e.g., cohesion, communication, and work stress). Data from program directors
and home visitors can be linked, allowing for analyses of home visitors’ experiences and well-being that
account for program characteristics.
Measures
We include three indicators of job demands: (1) recent staff turnover—specifically, any reported turnover
among home visitors in the last program year (as reported by programs on the Head Start Program
Information Report and included in the Baby FACES dataset); (2) workplace stress—specifically, home
visitors’ reported stress within the work environment; and (3) threats to personal safety—specifically,
home visitors’ reported feelings of safety on the job. We also include five indicators of job supports: (1)
KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
5
the ability to conduct virtual visits (which became common practice during the pandemic and continued
as an option in some programs); (2) the frequency of supervisory meetings; (3) the frequency of
coaching sessions; (4) team cohesion; and (5) communication in the workplace.
Our outcome of interest in this analysis is home visitors’ job satisfaction. The 2022 Baby FACES
home visitor survey collected information on job satisfaction using a six-item subscale from the Survey
of Organizational Functioning, an organizational climate measure, which also included the subscales for
cohesion and communication mentioned above (see table 1 for more details). Of particular relevance to
this analysis, the job satisfaction subscale included a reverse-coded item on turnover intention (i.e., “You
would like to find a job somewhere else”), suggesting it may be indicative not only of home visitors’ joy in
their work but also of their desire to stay at or leave their jobs.
Analytic Approach
We used mixed-effects regressions to examine whether job demands and job supports relate to job
satisfaction. We employed this method because it accounts for the fact that multiple home visitors
belong to the same program and, thus, program director data was the same for all surveyed staff in the
same program. All models included sampling weights for home visitors and program directors, making
these results nationally representative of Early Head Start programs and home visitors in 2022. Along
with job demands and supports, we entered home visitor and program characteristics to control for
possible confounding associations with satisfaction. Specifically, we included the home visitors’ race and
ethnicity, educational attainment, and work experience, as well as their program’s size based on funded
enrollment, metropolitan status, and whether it offered an Early Head Start center-based option in
addition to Early Head Start home visiting services. Table 1 lists the research constructs of interest and
how we defined each variable in our regression analysis.
TABLE 1
Variables Used in Multivariate Regression
Construct
Variable definition
Outcome variable
Job satisfaction
Subscale from the Texas Christian University “Survey of Organizational
Functioning” (Institute of Behavioral Research 2005) that asks about a home
visitor’s satisfaction with their job (six items; e.g., “You feel appreciated for the
job you do,” and “You would like to find a job somewhere else”). Each item was
presented in a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) format.
The average across items was then multiplied by 10, resulting in scores that
range from 10 to 50.
Home visitor characteristics
Race/ethnicity Home visitor report of their race and ethnicity. A constructed variable
identified four main racial/ethnic groups based on prevalence: non-Hispanic
Black; non-Hispanic White; Hispanic/Latino/a; and individuals identifying as
other races and not Hispanic/Latino/a.
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KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
Construct
Variable definition
Education level Home visitor report of their highest educational attainment, grouped into
three categories: (1) bachelor’s degree or higher; (2) associate degree,
vocational/technical diploma, or Child Development Associate (CDA)
credential; or (3) some vocational/technical school, some college but no degree,
or less.
Experience working in Early
Head Start
Home visitor’s report of how long they have worked in Early Head Start, in
years.
Program characteristics
Program metropolitan status
Programs were categorized as urban if their zip code was part of a
metropolitan statistical area (MSA) based on census data updated with annual
population estimates. A MSA usually includes one city with 50,000 or more
inhabitants and the county that city is in. Nearby counties can also be included
if they are within commuting distance. All other programs are considered
nonurban.
Program size Funded enrollment at the time of sampling, a categorical variable created from
either the 2015–16 Program Information Report (PIR; for the originally
sampled programs) or 2018–19 PIR (for the refreshed sample of programs).
Center-based option
Program where home visitor works offers a center-based option for Early Head
Start services.
Predictors of job satisfaction
Coworker turnover
A dichotomous variable to indicate whether any home visitor left the program
after the start of the current program year or between the current year and the
previous year, and needed to be replaced, based on information from the
director survey.
Work stress
Subscale from the Survey of Organization Funding conducted by Texas
Christian University (Institute of Behavioral Research 2005) that asks about a
home visitor’s assessment of the quality of their work environment in their
organization (four items; e.g., “Under too many pressures to do your job
effectively” and “Staff members often show signs of stress and strain”).
Personal safety
A dichotomous variable based on information from the home visitor survey to
indicate whether the home visitor ever felt unsafe when going to the homes of
their clients, which could range from “all or almost all the time” to “hardly ever.”
Responses of “never” are coded as 0.
Virtual visits A dichotomous variable based on information from the director survey to
indicate whether the program allows virtual home visits to families.
Frequency of meetings with
coach
The number of times a year that the home visitor typically meets with their
coach, if they report having one, as reported on the home visitor survey.
Frequency of one-on-one
supervisory meetings
The number of times a year that the home visitor typically has one-on-one
meetings with their supervisor, as reported on the home visitor survey.
Communication
Subscale from the Survey of Organizational Functioning (Institute of
Behavioral Research 2005) that asks about a home visitor’s assessment of the
quality of their work environment in their organization (five items; e.g., “Formal
and informal communication channels work well” and “Ideas and suggestions
from staff get fair consideration by program management”).
KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
7
Construct
Variable definition
Cohesion Subscale from the Survey of Organizational Functioning (Institute of
Behavioral Research 2005) that asks about a home visitor’s assessment of the
quality of their work environment in their organization (six items; e.g., “Staff
are quick to help one another when needed” and “Staff here all get along very
well”).
Source: Administration for Children & Families Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES), Spring 2022.
Findings
Below we present findings from descriptive and multivariate regression analyses of the Baby FACES
2022 data. Data included in the descriptive analysis below includes both director and home visitors’
reports of supervision and coaching. All variables in the multivariate analyses are from the home visitor
survey, unless otherwise specified.
Descriptive Analyses
We conducted descriptive analyses of variables related to job demands, job supports, and home visitors’
professional well-being to understand the prevalence and range of certain experiences and conditions.
We also ran frequencies on home visitor and program characteristics we intended to include in
multivariate analyses to examine the composition of the workforce and their program settings. Table 2
presents findings from these analyses.
TABLE 2
Descriptive Statistics of Early Head Start Home Visitors and their Programs, 2022
Percent (%)
Mean (standard deviation)
6.9
49.6
White
39.5
4.0
4.6
36.3
Bachelor’s degree or more
59.1
8.2 (6.79)
18.0
82.0
Program size
12.5
31.3
56.2
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KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
Percent (%)
Mean (standard deviation)
22.1
Yes
77.9
93.8
30.7 (8.9)
88.1
Supports
53.0
90.7
9.1 (12.10)
16.7 (14.53)
Cohesion
40.4 (7.65)
34.6 (7.71)
41.4 (6.19)
88.4
Source: Authors’ analyses of the Administration for Children & Families Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey
(Baby FACES), Spring 2022.
Notes: CDA = Child Development Associate credential.
HOME VISITOR AND PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS
Among Early Head Start home visitors, most worked in an urban area (82 percent) and in a program that
also offered a center-based option (78 percent) that had a large enrollment of more than 200 children
and families (56 percent). Although we observe some variation in race and ethnicity, home visitors most
commonly identified as white or Hispanic or Latino/a. Nearly 60 percent have a bachelor’s degree or
higher education.
WELL-BEING
Home visitors responded to several questions about their jobs to assess their satisfaction, as described
in table 2. Overall, scale scores indicate a high level of overall satisfaction but with wide variation (figure
1). Home visitors were also administered the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-
Revised (Eaton et al. 2004) to assess overall depressive symptoms. About 88 percent reported no or low
symptoms that had no clinical significance on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-
Revised (table 2). A small group of home visitors (about 10 percent) reported depressive symptoms that
were elevated but did not reach the threshold of potential clinical significance. Only a small remainder
had greater symptoms.
Given the low prevalence of depression, we decided not to further explore depression as an
outcome measure of well-being, though we acknowledge the importance of strong mental health for the
home visiting workforce.
2
Instead, we focus on job satisfaction, which was generally high but showed
greater variation.
KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
9
JOB DEMANDS AND SUPPORTS
When asked how often they felt unsafe when conducting home visits, almost half (47 percent) of home
visitors felt threats to personal safety at least “some of the time.” Nearly 40 percent reported “hardly
ever,” and a little over 12 percent reported “never” (figure 2). In regard to organizational climate, home
visitors generally reported moderately high levels of cohesion and communication, and moderate levels
of work stress (figure 1).
FIGURE 1
Home Visitors’ Perception of Organizational Climate
URBAN INSTITUTE
Source: Authors’ analyses of the Administration for Children & Families Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey
(Baby FACES), Spring 2022.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Cohesion Communication Stress Satisfaction
Scores
Mean 5th and 95th percentile Range
10
KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
FIGURE 2
Home Visitors’ Reported Frequencies of Feeling Unsafe during Home Visits
URBAN INSTITUTE
Source: Authors’ analyses of the Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (Baby FACES), Spring 2022.
Nearly half of program directors (49 percent) reported that supervisors typically meet with home
visitors once a month. A little over a quarter (28 percent) reported that one-on-one supervision
happens more regularly, a few times a month, while roughly 19 percent reported it happens less
regularly—just a few times a year. This aligns with what home visitors reported, with about 42 percent
of home visitors reporting having one-on-one supervision about once a month, while 30 percent
reported having it a few times a year or once a year. A little over 15 percent reported having one-on-one
supervision a few times a month. Although we observe small differences between program directors’
and home visitors’ reports, we relied on home visitors’ responses in our multivariate analyses to reflect
their perspectives on supervision. We note that while frequent supervision can be a supporting factor,
we cannot determine from the Baby FACES data the quality of supervision and content of these
interactions. More frequent interactions may be the result of home visitors needing more support and
not a program feature, for example.
When asked about coaching opportunities for home visitors, less than 10 percent of program
directors reported they do not have coaches for their home visitors. The rest either reported that the
supervisor serves as the coach (28 percent) or that they assign a coach who is different from the
supervisor (63 percent). Coaching meetings occurred an average of nine times a year. Almost 61
percent of program directors reported that coaching occurs at least once a month.
5.0
8.7
33.6
39.9
12.8
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
All or almost all of the time
Most of the time
Some of the time
Hardly ever
Never
Percentage of home visitors
KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
11
Multivariate Analyses
After finalizing our descriptive analyses, we turned to our multivariate regression analyses to examine
factors associated with home visitor job satisfaction. We hypothesized that job demands identified in
the existing literature, such as workplace stress, turnover among coworkers, and threats to personal
safety, along with job supports such as supervision and coaching practices, organizational climate, and
the option to conduct virtual visits would relate to job satisfaction.
We controlled for characteristics of Early Head Start home visitors and programs, such as staff
race/ethnicity, education level, years of working in Early Head Start, program size, whether the program
is located in an urban or rural area, and whether the program offers center-based care in addition to
home visiting. We took a stepwise approach to entering independent variables. We first entered job
demands, then job supports, and, finally, we added cohesion and communication to reflect
organizational climate.
Several significant associations emerged:
Being a part of a program that had 200 or more children enrolled was significantly associated
with lower levels of job satisfaction (from β = −0.59 to β = −0.42, p < 0.01). We found this
association across all three models.
Work stress was significantly associated with lower job satisfaction in the first two models
(Model 1: β = −0.29, p < .001; Model 2: β = −0.31, p < .001), but was no longer significant once
we added indicators of organizational climate (cohesion and communication).
Cohesion (β = 0.24, p < .01) and communication (β = 0.35, p < .001) were associated with higher
levels of job satisfaction in the final analytic model (model 3).
Lack of personal safety (β = −0.40, p < .05) was significantly associated with lower job
satisfaction in the final model. That is, ever feeling unsafe during a home visit was associated
with lower job satisfaction, above and beyond all included job supports. All other variables were
not significantly related to the outcome (table 3).
TABLE 3
Multilevel Model Regression Results Predicting Job Satisfaction of Early Head Start Home Visitors
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
β (SE)
β (SE)
β (SE)
Race (white is reference)
Black
−0.17 (0.33) −0.13 (0.33) −0.27 (0.23)
Hispanic or Latino/a
0.01 (0.18)
0.02 (0.20)
−0.22 (0.13)
Other
−0.14 (0.17)
−0.08 (0.19)
0.19 (0.20)
Level of education (high school or less is
reference)
Technical, associate degree or CDA
−0.02 (0.33) 0.16 (0.41) 0.32 (0.21)
Bachelor’s degree or more
0.12 (0.34)
0.09 (0.42)
0.36 (0.21)
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KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
β
(SE)
β
(SE)
β
(SE)
Years of experience
0.06 (0.06)
0.05 (0.06)
0.06 (0.05)
Urban (rural is reference) 0.04 (0.14) 0.01 (0.18) 0.06 (0.14)
Program size (less than 100 is reference)
More than 100 less than 200
−0.33 (0.17)
−0.40* (0.15)
−0.22 (0.12)
Over 200
−0.54** (0.19)
−0.59** (0.17)
−0.42** (0.14)
Program offers center-based option
−0.44* (0.18)
−0.33 (0.18)
−0.21 (0.14)
Job demands
Coworker turnover 0.06 (0.15) 0.03 (0.14) −0.07 (0.12)
Work stress
−0.29*** (0.08)
−0.31*** (0.09)
−0.10 (0.07)
Personal safety
−0.22 (0.14)
−0.27 (0.17)
−0.40* (0.16)
Job supports
Program allows virtual visits 0.11 (0.16) 0.10 (0.11)
Frequency of coaching
0.00 (0.06) −0.06 (0.04)
Frequency of one-on-one supervision meetings
0.05 (0.05)
0.04 (0.04)
Cohesion
0.24** (0.09)
Communication
0.35*** (0.07)
Number of observations
317
266
265
Sources: Authors’ analyses of the Administration for Children & Families Early Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey
(Baby FACES), Spring 2022.
Notes: *p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001. CDA = Child Development Associate credential.
Conclusion
Findings from this study show that the organizational climate—specifically cohesion and communication
among staff and leadership—is associated with increased job satisfaction for home visitors. Identifying
the factors that support home visitors in their role and keep them engaged and happy in their work is
key to strengthening the home visiting workforce. The study’s findings are consistent with recent
research on the home visiting workforce that reveals an association between organizational climate and
job satisfaction and turnover (Sparr et al. 2022). The findings from this study and previous research
highlight a potential area of focus for home visiting programs that are considering ways to support the
home visitors they employ.
The current study found that most home visitors reported engaging in supervision and coaching
meetings regularly—typically monthly but with some variation. Unlike other studies of the home visiting
workforce (e.g., Sandstrom et al. 2020), we did not observe significant associations between job
supports, such as frequency of supervisory meetings and teleworking options, and job satisfaction. Yet,
the current study did not include variables describing the quality of supervision and coaching.
The findings related to work stress and personal safety are noteworthy. We found that work stress
was no longer a significant predictor of job satisfaction once communication and cohesion were added
to the mode. This suggests that improving job satisfaction and communication offsets or reduces some
of the work stress home visitors face daily. This finding aligns with research conducted with a group of
KEY DRIVERS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG EARLY HEAD START HOME VISITORS
13
center-based child care providers in which supportive relationships with coworkers were reported as a
buffer from job stressors and demands (Berlin et al. 2020).
The relationship between personal safety and job satisfaction emerged as significant only in the
third model when accounting for cohesion and communication, such that ever feeling unsafe during a
home visit was associated with lower job satisfaction. One interpretation of this relationship is that
while increased workplace communication and cohesion may be sufficient to counteract typical work
stressors, they are not sufficient to counter feelings of being unsafe. Any threats to personal safety can
diminish feelings of job satisfaction and potentially trigger feelings of wanting to find a different job—as
measured by one of the survey items on the job satisfaction scale. This is somewhat concerning, given
the relatively high rate that home visitors reported feeling unsafe during home visits at least some of
the time in this sample.
Ensuring that home visitors feel safe and supported in their role is critical to reducing turnover and
improving job satisfaction. This evidence can inform the work of local Early Head Start programs and
other decisionmakers and technical assistance providers aiming to address staff turnover issues in the
home visiting field. Future research on home visitors’ feelings of personal safety on the job as well as
testing possible strategies to improve personal safety in the field could contribute important knowledge
on this issue.
Notes
1
“Supporting a Strong Education Workforce,” Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center,
December 29, 2023, https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/human-resources/article/supporting-strong-education-
workforce.
2
When we examined depression as an outcome, we found no significant association between the predictors in our
model and depressive symptoms, likely due to the very few home visitors that met the criteria for clinical
significance.
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About the Authors
Catherine Kuhns is a senior research associate in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population,
where she studies Head Start, child care, and child welfare policies and programs.
Heather Sandstrom is a senior fellow in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the
Urban Institute, where she leads research on child care and early education and home visiting. Her
current research examines issues of workforce retention and well-being.
Laura Betancur is a research associate in the Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population at the
Urban Institute, where she studies access to early childhood education and issues surrounding the early
childhood workforce.
Acknowledgments
This brief was prepared with grant funding from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of
the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award (Grant
#90YR0134) totaling $100,000 with 100 percent funded by ACF/HHS. The contents are those of the
authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACF/HHS, or the
US Government. For more information, please visit the ACF website, Administrative and National Policy
Requirements (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/administrative-and-national-policyrequirements). We are
grateful to ACF and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission.
The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute,
its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and
recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is
available at urban.org/fundingprinciples.
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