Home visiting organizations across the nation are embedding diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) into their values and mission statements. Despite these efforts, the home visiting field still struggles to prioritize nurturing leadership among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) professionals, including learning about the circumstances, experiences, and structures that influence BIPOC home visitor career pathways and leadership development.
In November 2022, Start Early launched a national field engagement, Leadership Pathways for Home Visitors of Color: An Exploration. The project centered the voices and experiences of home visitors of color to define leadership within the home visiting field and to determine a vision and needed supports for developing and sustaining leadership pathways. The expertise of home visitors involved in the project also informed a series of recommendations around upstream system changes aimed at addressing leadership and advancement for this vital component of the workforce.