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In Fall 2016, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OPRE), in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded the Urban Institute a contract to study the state of the home visiting workforce. The project examines the characteristics, qualifications, and career trajectories of home visiting staff and strategies to build a pipeline of qualified home visitors and supervisors. The project includes two major components: 1) a national survey of the home-visiting workforce, including home visitors, supervisors, and program managers, in local agencies receiving funding from the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program, and 2) case studies of eight distinct sites, involving semi-structured interviews with program leaders and supervisory staff, as well as focus groups with home visitors. Together, these research approaches will address critical research questions including: 1. What are the characteristics of home visitors and their supervisors, including their demographics, qualifications, and employment history? 2. What are the characteristics of home visiting jobs? a. What schedules do staff work? How flexible and predictable are their schedules? b. How much do staff earn? How do job earnings vary by degree and position? c. How do employee compensation and benefits compare to other fields? 3. What are the career pathways of home visitors and supervisors? a. Why do home visitors enter this field? b. What are home visitors’ career goals and perceptions of advancement opportunities? c. What factors contribute to the recruitment, retention, and turnover of home visitors? 4. What strategies do programs use to recruit and retain staff? a. What are program managers’ experiences recruiting qualified job candidates? b. What competencies are they looking for? What positions are challenging to fill and why? 5. What opportunities and challenges exist for professional development and training? a. What training needs does the workforce perceive? The study will result in several written products and dissemination activities that share key themes and findings related to the career trajectories of home visitors and their supervisors.

The report reviews existing data sources and prior research on six programs operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provide food assistance to American Indians living on or near reservations. The purpose of the review is to help identify future research needs and opportunities to exploit administrative data systems and recurring national surveys. The programs covered are the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Food Stamp Program (FSP), the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). Research topics of continuing importance include the impacts of reservation food assistance on health and nutrition, the characteristics that make nutrition education effective on reservations, the dynamics of program participation, and the contribution of tribal administration to program coordination.

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