This project includes the development and administration of the “Survey of Staff Recruitment, Training, and Professional Development in Early Head Start” to understand the successes and challenges Early Head Start programs face in hiring and training staff. The survey will collect data from a nationally representative sample of Early Head Start grant recipients, focusing on strategies, successes, and challenges Head Start grant recipients are experiencing so that staff meet or exceed the Head Start Program Performance Standards qualification and competency requirements.

The survey aims to learn about how Early Head Start programs support their center-based infant and toddler teachers and home visitors to have sufficient knowledge, training, experience, and competencies. The survey will include questions about how programs recruit, hire, and support staff in their professional development. The findings will inform program planning, training, technical assistance, and research.

The survey is supported by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The Urban Institute is conducting the project in partnership with MEF Associates. More information about the project can be found here.

Project Leadership

Diane Schilder, principal investigator, Urban Institute 
Kate Stepleton, co–principal investigator, MEF Associates 
Catherine Kuhns, project manager, Urban Institute
Rebecca Berger, task lead, Urban Institute
Tim Triplett, task lead, Urban Institute