NCJ Number
224388
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 77 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2008 Pages: 28-32
Date Published
September 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Utilizing the Hillsboro, OR Police Department’s (HPD's) policy enhancements to address their truancy problem, this article discusses past and current strategies in effective truancy intervention.
Abstract
Police agencies prove important in truancy intervention. Officers perform many functions, ranging from alerting parents of their child’s absence from school to assisting in the enforcement of sanctions and possible mediation. The HPD recognized a need to enhance its policies to adequately address truancy and in 2004, launched an effort to revamp its approach. The HPD modified its goals and began to treat cases of truancy as opportunities for early mediation among all affected parties. In addition, HPD started directing the court proceeding to knowledgeable and interested judges in juvenile court. HPD also made several changes to their procedures that greatly improved their truancy interventions. First, all parents who do not or cannot get their truant students to comply with the law must appear in court. Second, parents appear in juvenile, not traffic, court. Third, the program’s structure encourages parents to join into a collaborative problem-solving mediation meeting, rather than a penalty system based on fines. Lastly, the system’s methods can escalate, when necessary. The changes encourage collaborative efforts among community agencies creating a closer working relationship to prevent or intervene in truancy cases. It is clear that the changes in Hillsboro, OR have facilitated the use of law enforcement and the court system in ways that simply make more sense.