How satisfied are home visitors with their caseloads: a national look at home visitors’ perspectives on caseload fit
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- OPRE report
- Author(s):
- Sandstrom, Heather, author Lou, Cary, author Benatar, Sarah, author
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Administration for Children and Families. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. Urban Institute, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, DC : Urban Institute, September 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Community Health Workers -- supply & distribution Health Workforce -- statistics & numerical data Job Satisfaction Maternal-Child Health Services -- statistics & numerical data United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Early childhood home visitors work closely with families with young children and pregnant women to provide education, support, and connections to community resources at a critical time in their lives. By providing services directly in the home, home visitors provide a safe space for reflection and equip parents with the tools to increase their confidence and strengthen their skills. Home visiting work is rewarding but can also be challenging. As a relationship-based intervention strategy, home visiting’s success depends on home visitors establishing trusting relationships with families. To allow home visitors sufficient time to develop these relationships and work with families, caseloads—defined as the number of children or families a home visitor serves— should be manageable. Caseloads differ for a variety of reasons. Home visitors implement different home visiting models and those models vary in terms of visit frequency (e.g., weekly or monthly visits)1 and duration of services. Accordingly, expectations for caseload size tend to differ by model (NHVRC 2020). In addition, program enrollment (shaped by local demand for services), staff size, and staff experience can all contribute to a home visitor’s assigned caseload. Yet little is known about how home visitors feel about their caseloads and how their caseload size affects their work experiences. This brief summarizes descriptive findings from the Home Visiting Career Trajectories project regarding staff perceptions of client caseloads (box 1). Specifically, this brief addresses the following questions: 1. How do home visitors feel about their caseload size? 2. How do home visitors’ perceptions of caseload burden relate to their reports of on-the-job stress, work-life conflict, and turnover intentions? 3. What types of home visitors report their caseloads are lighter or heavier than they can handle? Key findings include the following: (1) Overall, 75 percent of home visitors are somewhat or completely satisfied with their caseload size. Most home visitors (68 percent) report that their caseloads are “about right,” while 14 percent feel their caseloads are too heavy and 18 percent feel their caseloads are too light. (2) When caseloads are heavier than home visitors feel they can handle, home visitors are more likely to report on-the-job stress and less work-life balance. (3) Perceived caseload fit varies by program and staff characteristics. Home visitors who perceive caseloads as too light are typically new staff in their first year on the job. Home visitors are more likely to perceive their caseloads as heavier than they can handle when their programs have at least one staff vacancy. Reports of experiencing heavy caseloads are most common among home visitors with three to five years of experience.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (15 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918299587206676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918299587206676