NCJ Number
212164
Date Published
2005
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report presents brief descriptions of truancy programs in six demonstration sites participating in the Truancy Reduction Demonstration project sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Abstract
The Truancy Reduction Program in Rodeo, CA, is a school-based program in an elementary school and a high school. Attendance workers at both sites work with school officials to identify students with chronic truancy patterns. Attendance workers contact the parents to assess the truancy causes and the needs of the truants. In Jacksonville, FL, the State Attorney's Office provides a precourt diversion program for truant youth and their families. The youth, his/her parents, the school attendance worker, and a hearing officer meet to develop a contract that includes plans for reducing truancy and providing services and community support. In Suffolk County, NY, the Truancy Reduction Project uses a multiagency approach that includes a probation officer housed in the school, who acts as a truancy case manager to assess and address the underlying causes of chronic truancy. Two school-wide interventions are also in place. In Houston, TX, the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project targets high-risk, ninth-grade youth at one high school. The program's purposes are to educate the community about truancy and the need to prevent it, provide early identification, assess and intervene with truants and their families, and improve student and parental accountability for truant behavior. In Seattle, WA, the King County Superior Court Truancy Reduction Project involves a multitiered approach to families involved in the truancy petition process of the Juvenile Court. The truancy project in Tacoma, WA, involves a middle school with a high number of truancy filings. Intervention for identified students includes assessment and referral to appropriate community resources.