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The blog explores the challenge of Head Start's teacher shortage amid the “back to school” season, and the need to address fair compensation for educators.

"We don’t have any food. They are going to take my kids! Can you help me?" The desperate plea of a mother came through my voicemail. It was dinner time; I had already left the office for the day. I had been working with this family for months to address several safety risk factors. It was a tough case, and my job as a Prevention Specialist with the Department of Social Services (DSS) was to keep this family safely intact. I felt the weight of this responsibility every day. I knew if I did not intervene, foster care would be imminent for the children. However, the call came during the few hours I slept between jobs. I made less than $30,000 per year at DSS and, to make ends meet, worked a second full-time job at a residential program for youth aging out of foster care.

Join Abt for an engaging learning and networking event during London Climate Action Week 2024. 

Abt is proud to exhibit and present at the 2025 American Association of Criminology’s (ASC) Annual Meeting.

Join Abt Global at the 2025 Association for Public Policy Fall Research Conference (APPAM).