Retention of Head Start staff is important to provide high-quality and developmentally appropriate early education and comprehensive services to young children and their families. High levels of staff turnover may impede the efforts of grant recipients that convert enrollment slots to implement or expand their delivery of high-quality Early Head Start services.

Purpose

This brief offers a descriptive picture of the turnover and retention rates of staff among Head Start grant recipients that converted enrollment slots in either 2018 or 2020, compared with grant recipients in these cohorts that did not convert enrollment slots. It also describes the strategies grant recipients planned to employ to address turnover and promote retention.

Key Findings and Highlights

• Staff turnover rates were lower for grant recipients that converted enrollment slots than those that did not convert enrollment slots.
• In the 2018 cohort, grant recipients that converted enrollment slots were more likely to cite higher compensation as a reason for turnover than those that did not convert enrollment slots.
• In the 2020 cohort, grant recipients that converted enrollment slots were more likely to cite retirement or relocation as a reason for turnover compared with those that did not convert enrollment slots.
• Grant recipients cited multiple strategies to combat turnover and increase retention, including improving compensation and benefits, promoting mental health and well-being, streamlining training and onboarding, supporting staff career advancement, and refining recruitment strategies.

Methods

This brief used data from the Head Start Enterprise System and 2019 and 2021 national Program Information Report data. We also analyzed each grant recipient’s conversion application and coded for (1) anticipated hiring challenges; (2) anticipated turnover challenges; (3) anticipated training challenges, specifically for existing staff to meet EHS qualifications; and (4) proposed strategies for hiring and retaining EHS staff.