A stable and healthy workforce is key to the delivery of high-quality Early Head Start services to pregnant women and families with low incomes who have children under age 3. However, high staff turnover is common in the early childhood field, a crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study investigates how the pandemic affected turnover rates among Early Head Start teachers and home visitors. We also examine the program- and community-level characteristics associated with staff turnover.

Why This Matters

Documenting the key drivers of turnover in Early Head Start in the wake of the pandemic can support Early Head Start programs as they strategize ways to support staff recruitment and retention.

What We Found

• The average program-level turnover rate for Early Head Start teachers and home visitors spiked after the pandemic, rising from about 19 percent in 2019 to nearly 29 percent in 2022.
• The share of Early Head Start programs with high turnover rates—defined as a rate of more than 20 percent—increased from 38 percent to 57 percent.
• The need for higher compensation was the most common reason for staff departures in both years, reported for 25 percent of teachers and nearly 20 percent of home visitors in 2019, and 24 percent for teachers and home visitors combined in 2022. Reasons related to health and medical issues were also common across years.
• Turnover rates varied by the ages of children the programs served, program agency type, and community setting.
• When examining the associations between Early Head Start teacher and home visitor turnover during the 2021–22 program year and various program and community characteristics, we found three significant predictors: receiving both Head Start and Early Head Start funding, being embedded in a school system, and being in an urban rather than a rural area each predicted lower turnover.