Home Visiting in California During the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study of Low-Income Pregnant and Parenting Caregivers

Abstract

Context: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, home visiting services for low-income children and families were provided almost entirely in person. Little is known about clients’ experience of home visiting provided virtually by video or phone instead of, or in addition to, in-person home visiting. Objective: To explore the views of clients in the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) Home Visiting Program (HVP) across California during the first 2 years of the pandemic. Setting: Forty counties in California. Participants: CalWORKs HVP clients, currently enrolled or who left the program in the 6 months prior to each survey. Main Outcome Measures: Clients’ ratings of participation in and experiences with the CalWORKs HVP services, as well as unmet needs. Results: We collected 1617 surveys from clients across 3 survey rounds. Pandemic-related restrictions resulted in decreased frequency of home visits and a shift from in person to primarily virtual visits. As in-person home visit frequency decreased, there were significant declines in clients’ level of agreement that they learned child development skills (P = .04), received parenting services (P = .015) or activities (P < .001), or received infant and child nutrition services (P = .003). There were no declines in level of agreement that the CalWORKs HVP improved the quality of life of clients and their children. Discussion: Clients consistently rated the CalWORKs HVP as positively contributing to their and their children’s well-being, regardless of the shift from in person to virtual visits. Clients’ participation in some program components decreased over the evaluation. However, it is unknown if clients received fewer referrals, were hesitant to pursue the referrals, or if fewer services were available. Continued research is needed to evaluate the merits and disadvantages of virtual visits as in-person home visits resume postpandemic.