View in EDS

The Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Workforce: Descriptive Evidence on Demographics and Turnover from Oregon. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1347

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: The Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Workforce: Descriptive Evidence on Demographics and Turnover from Oregon. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1347
Language: English
Authors: Aaron J. Ainsworth, Nicholas Ainsworth, Yujia Liu, Emily K. Penner, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Source: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. 2025.
Availability: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 64
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University
Contract Number: R01HH094007
Document Type: Reports - Research
Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Teachers, Young Children, Early Intervention, Special Education, Special Needs Students, Students with Disabilities, Longitudinal Studies, Faculty Mobility, Teacher Persistence, Educational Legislation, Equal Education, Federal Legislation, Paraprofessional School Personnel, Teacher Recruitment, School Demography, Teacher Distribution
Geographic Terms: Oregon
Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Abstract: Early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) services for children with disabilities have expanded substantially across the U.S. over the past few decades, necessitating efforts to recruit and retain a qualified workforce to meet their needs. Despite widespread reports of staffing challenges in this sector, few contemporary studies provide large-scale evidence on this workforce. Using administrative data for all EI/ECSE employees in Oregon from 2008 to 2023, we provide longitudinal descriptive evidence on their composition, distribution, and stability. We show that the workforce has increased significantly, is growing more racially/ethnically diverse, and is more highly educated but less experienced than the state's K-12 workforce. Turnover remained fairly constant during this period, with the exception of paraprofessionals and non-licensed staff whose retention steadily declined to historic lows. Finally, we show that staff are distributed somewhat inequitably throughout the state, with areas serving more low-income students having the highest child-staff ratios and fewer highly-educated teachers/interventionists. Together these analyses contribute the first longitudinal portrait of an EI/ECSE workforce, providing key insights into their staffing dynamics at scale.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED678322
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED678322
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED678322
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Report
PubTypeId: report
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Workforce: Descriptive Evidence on Demographics and Turnover from Oregon. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1347
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Aaron+J%2E+Ainsworth%22">Aaron J. Ainsworth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nicholas+Ainsworth%22">Nicholas Ainsworth</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yujia+Liu%22">Yujia Liu</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Emily+K%2E+Penner%22">Emily K. Penner</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Annenberg+Institute+for+School+Reform+at+Brown+University%22">Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Annenberg+Institute+for+School+Reform+at+Brown+University%22"><i>Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University</i></searchLink>. 2025.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 64
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: SourceSuprt
  Label: Sponsoring Agency
  Group: SrcSuprt
  Data: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)<br />Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University
– Name: NumberContract
  Label: Contract Number
  Group: NumCntrct
  Data: R01HH094007
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Research<br />Numerical/Quantitative Data
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Childhood+Teachers%22">Early Childhood Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Young+Children%22">Young Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+Intervention%22">Early Intervention</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+Education%22">Special Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+Needs+Students%22">Special Needs Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Students+with+Disabilities%22">Students with Disabilities</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Longitudinal+Studies%22">Longitudinal Studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Faculty+Mobility%22">Faculty Mobility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Persistence%22">Teacher Persistence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Legislation%22">Educational Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Equal+Education%22">Equal Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Federal+Legislation%22">Federal Legislation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Paraprofessional+School+Personnel%22">Paraprofessional School Personnel</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Recruitment%22">Teacher Recruitment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Demography%22">School Demography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Distribution%22">Teacher Distribution</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Oregon%22">Oregon</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectThesaurus
  Label: Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SU" term="%22Individuals+with+Disabilities+Education+Act%22">Individuals with Disabilities Education Act</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) services for children with disabilities have expanded substantially across the U.S. over the past few decades, necessitating efforts to recruit and retain a qualified workforce to meet their needs. Despite widespread reports of staffing challenges in this sector, few contemporary studies provide large-scale evidence on this workforce. Using administrative data for all EI/ECSE employees in Oregon from 2008 to 2023, we provide longitudinal descriptive evidence on their composition, distribution, and stability. We show that the workforce has increased significantly, is growing more racially/ethnically diverse, and is more highly educated but less experienced than the state's K-12 workforce. Turnover remained fairly constant during this period, with the exception of paraprofessionals and non-licensed staff whose retention steadily declined to historic lows. Finally, we show that staff are distributed somewhat inequitably throughout the state, with areas serving more low-income students having the highest child-staff ratios and fewer highly-educated teachers/interventionists. Together these analyses contribute the first longitudinal portrait of an EI/ECSE workforce, providing key insights into their staffing dynamics at scale.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED678322
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED678322
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 64
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Early Childhood Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early Childhood Teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Young Children
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early Intervention
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Special Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Special Needs Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Students with Disabilities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Longitudinal Studies
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Faculty Mobility
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher Persistence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Legislation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Equal Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Federal Legislation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Paraprofessional School Personnel
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher Recruitment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Demography
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teacher Distribution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Oregon
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education Workforce: Descriptive Evidence on Demographics and Turnover from Oregon. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1347
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Aaron J. Ainsworth
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Nicholas Ainsworth
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Yujia Liu
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Emily K. Penner
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 11
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
              Type: main
ResultId 1