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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for truancy
21 results foundAuthor: Anne Duncan Consultancy Title: Evaluation of the Auckland City East Community Policing Team Summary: The Auckland East Community Policing Team (CPT) is a problem-solving team that works with community constables and local communities to identify and address issues of concern to the community. The team draws on information from Intel, local police staff, tactical meetings, other agencies and communities groups to identify problems and to decide on which issues they will focus. They work flexibly on varied shifts in order to target problem times and places. The CPT comprises a sergeant and four staff who are a mix of experienced and probationary constables. This mix provides a training ground in community policing for new staff and ensures that more senior staff are attracted to lead community policing as Field Training Officers. The evaluation of the Auckland East CPT has drawn on interviews with CPT members, other local police staff, and community stakeholders; Intel data; informal observation; and CPT weekly reports. The CPT has an on-going focus on graffiti, truancy, alcohol-related incidents, and road policing. On-going work in these areas has been complemented by targeted operations. These include: • a graffiti operation, with the Auckland City Council • two truancy operations, with schools and the Ministry of Education • public visibility and crime deterrence activity following a community survey • three controlled purchase operations • directed patrolling of selected retail areas. There is some evidence that the targeted activity is associated with a reduction in the problems identified, at least in the short term. Community stakeholders, particularly those from local government, were positive about their relationship with the CPT and believed the team was helping to raise the profile of police service in the area. The CPT has successfully complemented local community constables and other police sections, such as Youth Aid, Officers in Charge of local stations, and the Strategic Traffic Unit. Interviews with other police staff indicate that there is growing appreciation of and support for the role of the CPT. Details: Wellington, NZ: New Zealand Police, 2009. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 15, 2010 at: http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/resources/evaluation/2009-10-27-Auckland-City-East-community-policing-evaluation.pdf Year: 2009 Country: New Zealand URL: http://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/resources/evaluation/2009-10-27-Auckland-City-East-community-policing-evaluation.pdf Shelf Number: 119810 Keywords: Alcohol Related Crime, DisorderCommunity PolicingCrime PreventionGraffitiProblem-Oriented PolicingRoad PolicingTruancy |
Author: Pitts, Wayne J. Title: The District Attorney General's Truancy Reduction Program: 2008-2009 Evaluation Summary: In the United States, truancy is a major cause for concern among law enforcement, politicians, educators, and communities at large. Although states differ on their definition of truancy a common theme remains; most emphasize frequent, unexcused absenteeism from school. Research on the subject indicates truancy is a risk factor for future delinquent behavior and can be linked to substance abuse and gang activity among other criminal acts. The Shelby County District Attorney General’s office determined that juvenile delinquency prevention and deterrence could be achieved by firmly addressing truancy directly. In Tennessee, truancy is defined as having five unexcused absences. While parental responsibility is a key point of the DA’s Truancy Reduction Program, students are held accountable for their behavior. The Truancy Reduction Program is an intentional effort to provide support to students, parents and schools to decrease truancy. The Truancy Reduction Program relies on existing resources within the DA’s office although additional funding through the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth is provided to supplement salaries for Advocates. The Advocates are responsible for creating alliances between school administrators, teachers and the District Attorney General’s office. Advocates work to confirm attendance records and to inform students of the seriousness of unexcused absences. Throughout the year, Advocates meet with students, parents, teachers, administrators, mentors, program evaluators, and other District Attorney General’s office staff to promote school attendance and positive behavior among the student population. The Advocates serve as a type of case manager and central repository for all information regarding the students at their particular schools. Advocates gather information about habitual truants and share observations about behavior with the Assistant District Attorneys. Researchers from the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Memphis were key participants in the design and implementation of the evaluation method since the beginning of the DA’s Truancy Reduction Project in 2006. The first step was to standardize efforts through the use of two data collection instruments: a comprehensive Intake Form and an Academic and Behavioral Tracking Form. Both were designed to capture as much information as possible while considering the limited resources available to collect, enter, and analyze the data. The Advocates are responsible for completing the Intake Form during an initial interview that is designed to provide the Advocate with a variety of pertinent case management details. The Academic and Behavioral Tracking Forms are completed by the Advocates every month for each student and provide a summary of contact and services provided to the student as well as a count of absences and behavioral concerns. The information gathered on the paper files are then entered into an electronic database by the evaluation team for analysis. This report includes data for 91 students referred to the DA’s Truancy Reduction Program during the 2008-2009 school year. This includes students from Chickasaw, Cypress, Hamilton, Hickory Ridge, and Sherwood Middle Schools and Cordova High School. The Intake Form includes a variety of factors that may help explain incidents of truancy including: demographic factors, attitudes towards education, gang involvement, home-life, peer influences, substance use, and other risk factors. The Tracking Form measures intervention and contact frequency as well as attendance records and school behavior reports. The evaluation team also receives official data directly from Memphis City Schools regarding attendance and behavioral reports. Details: Memphis, TN: University of Memphis, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 2010. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 29, 2010 at: http://www.scdag.com/Portals/0/pdfs/mentoringreport.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://www.scdag.com/Portals/0/pdfs/mentoringreport.pdf Shelf Number: 120128 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionMentoringTruancy |
Author: Klima, T. Title: What Works? Targeted Truancy and Dropout Programs in Middle and High School Summary: In 2008, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy was directed by the Legislature to study various aspects of truancy. In the following report, we focus on findings regarding evidence-based practices for truancy reduction and dropout prevention among middle and high school students. Programs implemented by schools, courts, and law enforcement agencies were considered. Based on a national review of the literature, we conclude that: There are few rigorous studies evaluating the effects of targeted truancy and dropout programs on at-risk students. In this analysis, only 22 (out of 200) studies met our criteria for rigor. Overall, targeted programs for older student populations make small positive impacts on (1) dropping out, (2) achievement, and (3) presence at school (attendance/enrollment). When programs are divided based on their central focus or modality, alternative educational programs (e.g., schools -- within-schools) and mentoring programs are found to be effective. Specifically, Career Academies — an alternative program model that offers a strong career and technical focus — positively impact all three outcomes, as well as high school graduation. Alternative schools — separate buildings with specialized academic and other services for atrisk students — have a small negative effect on dropping out: more at-risk students drop out of alternative schools than other educational programs. Additional research is required to better understand this finding. Only one rigorous court-based program evaluation was located; thus, this analysis cannot inform court policy or practices. Because of the key role of the juvenile courts in addressing truancy in many states, additional well-designed studies are imperative. Details: Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 2009. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 1, 2011 at: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/09-06-2201.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/09-06-2201.pdf Shelf Number: 121213 Keywords: EducationJuvenile CourtJuvenile OffendersMentoringSchool DropoutsTruancy |
Author: Seeley, Ken Title: Peer Victimization in Schools: A Set of Quantitative and Qualitative Studies of the Connections Among Peer Victimization, School Engagement, Truancy, School Achievement, and Other Outcomes Summary: The authors designed and completed three studies to explore the connections among the variables of bullying/peer victimization, school engagement and the school outcomes of attendance and achievement. They also addressed some of the limitations in previous research efforts dealing with these topics. Study 1 was a quantitative study whose purpose was to develop a predictive/causal model that would explain the relationships among peer victimization, school attendance, school engagement and school achievement. This study used direct measures of school attendance and achievement and a previously validated measure of school engagement. Study 2 was a qualitative study of the school experiences of bullied children. From this study we planned to gain insight into school instructional, interpersonal, and structural factors that affect the victimization-attendance connection. Study 3 was also a qualitative study of teachers’ experiences with efforts to ameliorate the impact of school victimization. The underlying premise of the quantitative study was that school truancy serves as a gateway to numerous negative outcomes for today’s youth: dropping out of school, onset of drug use, engaging in criminal activity, and the like. Our conversations with youth in a truancy diversion program (see Appendix B) posited some connection between students being truant, and their experiencing victimization or bullying from their peers in school. The existing research literature suggested that such a connection may be less than direct – it could be difficult to establish that bullying somehow directly “causes” truancy – but that an indirect connection, mediated by one or more other factors, might be shown to exist. A short-term longitudinal study was undertaken, in which 1000 students were surveyed in the fall and the spring of their 6th grade year. Two sets of questions were asked: one set pertaining to whether the students were engaged in school (behaviorally, cognitively, and emotionally), and a second set pertaining to whether students were subject to actions by their peers that fall within the definition of bullying. Using structural equation modeling, the data collected were analyzed to determine the connections, if any, between being victimized, being engaged in school, and the outcomes reflected in school records of attendance and achievement (measured by grade point average). What was learned from this analyzed data set was this: while bullying does not directly relate to truancy or to school achievement, a statistically significant relationship can be shown where the effects of bullying; victimization; can be mediated by the factor of school enga gement. In other words, being bullied may not be a direct cause of truancy or low school achievement. If, however, bullying results in the victim becoming less engaged in school, that victim is more likely to cease attending and achieving; if the victim can remain or become engaged in school, his or her attendance and achievement are less likely to be effected. If, as the quantitative study appears to show, school engagement acts as a protective factor between being bullied and being truant, what has to happen for that engagement to occur? What does school engagement actually mean, under these circumstances? Why do some students manage to be engaged in school, and then thrive after bullying, while others cannot seem to connect to school? Details: Denver, CO: National Center for School Engagement, 2009. 291p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 1, 2011 at: http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/PeerVictimizationinSchoolsAsetofQualitativeandQuantitativeStudies.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/PeerVictimizationinSchoolsAsetofQualitativeandQuantitativeStudies.pdf Shelf Number: 121949 Keywords: HarassmentSchool Bullying (U.S.)School CrimeSchool DisciplineStudents, Crimes AgainstTruancy |
Author: National Center for School Engagement Title: The Story Behind the Numbers: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Houston TX Truancy Reduction Demonstration Program Summary: The Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project in Houston, TX, uses two primary methods of reducing truancy. The first is a case management model in which students and families are assigned to a case manager in an effort to identify and address unmet needs that may be impacting school attendance. The case manager attempts to establish a network of community resources to serve families in a variety of areas. Based upon a family’s particular needs, the case manager makes referrals to the appropriate community service agencies. These agencies provide to families of truant youth services such as temporary shelter, food, clothing and physical or mental health assistance. The case management model is used in conjunction with a second method, commonly known as “Knock and Talk,” in which police officers make visits to the homes of students with identified truancy patterns. Officers may issue tickets to the students and/or parents indicating that the student is in violation of state law for mandatory school attendance. Officers attempt to connect with families and engage them in conversation about the kinds of behaviors that lead to truancy and the importance of school attendance. Additionally, the officers attempt to build relationships with the student and families that extend beyond the formal home visit. Officers also make referrals to community agencies or to the case manager if they detect a particular need that may be impacting school attendance. In an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of these two methods, focus groups were held with three groups of people: high school and program staff (including police officers), the students receiving the services, and parents of those students. Topics discussed included the experiences with the programs, perceptions of program effectiveness, and opinions about what worked well and what could be improved. People involved with both the case management and the “Knock and Talk” interventions were included in the focus groups. This paper presents a summary of the findings from those data collection processes. Details: Denver, CO: National Center for School Engagement, 2006. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 7, 2011 at: http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/TheStoryBehindtheNumbersAQualitativeEvaluationoftheHoustonTXTruancyReductionDemonstrationProgram.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/TheStoryBehindtheNumbersAQualitativeEvaluationoftheHoustonTXTruancyReductionDemonstrationProgram.pdf Shelf Number: 122005 Keywords: Interagency CooperationSchool DropoutsStatus OffendersTruancy |
Author: National Center for School Engagement Title: Re-Engaging Youth in School: Evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project Summary: The following data reflect all seven demonstration sites in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Truancy Prevention project. These sites are located in Suffolk County, New York; Contra Costa, California: Tacoma and Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Jacksonville, Florida. The purpose of collecting these data was to identify the intervention population and track truant students’ progress. The first set of tables is the aggregate of these seven sites from the projects inception to July 21, 2006. Following these data are the individual site reports. This report includes the following information: • Students Served • Ethnicity of Students • Grades of Students • Age of Students • Gender of Students • IEP status • Discipline Problems • Involvement with Juvenile Justice • Primary Care Giver • Income Eligibility Status • Students who live in home with only one adult • Students who have no working adult in the home • Average Number of children in the home • Unexcused Absences over Time • Excused Absences over Time • Tardies over Time • Days of In-School Suspensions • Days of Out-of-School Suspensions • Overall Academic Performance (over time). Students Served -- There were 634 students served in the seven demonstration sites from the time of inception through July 2006. Jacksonville served the most students (172). The average amount of students served was 91. Ethnicity -- Across all sites, the ethnicity of students is a relatively good mix of White/Caucasian, Black/African-American and Latino/Hispanic. There are less Asian/Pacific Islanders and almost no representation of Native Americans. Also, a large category consists of “Other” which can include any combination of any ethnicity. This almost equitable mix is a result of where the seven sites are located. The majority of students served in Seattle are White, whereas Tacoma served a larger proportion of African-Americans. In addition, Jacksonville and Suffolk counties served approximately equal numbers of African-American and White students. Houston served a primarily Hispanic population, and Honolulu was mostly “Other”, which in this case was mostly native Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian. Honolulu also served the majority of the Asian/Pacific students across the seven sites. Grade and Age -- Although all grades K-12 are served in the project, the majority of students represented in these data are in the first and ninth grades. Correspondingly, the majority of students served are ages six to seven and thirteen to sixteen. This is largely due to the focus on elementary students in Jacksonville and Honolulu and upper middle and high school in Houston and Seattle. Gender -- In general, girls were served slightly more than boys (52% vs. 48%). Suffolk County served the largest percentage of males (74%) and Houston served the largest percentages of females (60%). Families -- Approximately 70% of truant students’ primary caregivers included mothers. Approximately 15% of case managers said that “both parents” were primary caregivers. Some caseworkers checked “mother” and “father” as separate caregivers; this may indicate that although some parents were not living in the same household, they were sharing parental duties equally. In addition, 36% of students were living with only one adult and approximately 20% had no working adults in the home. The majority of children were eligible for free or reduced lunches. Of the 634 students whose information was entered, only 85 (13%) paid a full price lunch at school. Proportionately, the majority of students who paid full price lunches were in Contra Costa, Suffolk County and Seattle. Although Seattle had the highest proportion of students living with only one adult (49%), Jacksonville had the second highest proportion (42%) and the highest proportion of unemployment. There were an average number of three children living in the home. However, not all children were siblings; in some cases multiple nuclear families were located in a single dwelling. Discipline -- Across the sites, approximately 15% of children had some sort of discipline problem and 13% had already been involved with the juvenile justice system. Sites that served younger students had fewer discipline issues. At the beginning of interventions the range of in-school suspensions (ISS) was much higher than three, six, and nine months following. However, out-of-school suspensions (OSS) did not have a similar pattern; these did not change significantly across time. Nevertheless, the numbers of children who actually had out-of-school suspensions was very low. Academics -- Approximately 19% of students had Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). The sites that had the majority of these students were from Jacksonville, Tacoma, and Seattle. The lowest proportions of students to have IEPs were in Houston and Honolulu. In addition, across the sites, more students improved in their overall academic achievement compared to those who did not change or whose grades worsened. The exceptions to this were in Jacksonville and Suffolk County which remained the same at Update 2 and 3, and in Tacoma which stayed the same at Update 1. Attendance -- The overarching goal of truancy prevention is obviously to improve attendance and this effort was successful. In general, while excused daily absences did not change appreciably, unexcused daily absences fell dramatically and tardies declined. Period absences did not change linearly and therefore a meaningful trend isn’t apparent. Of the sites that reported enough update data, the most successful sites were Jacksonville and Honolulu. These sites primarily targeted parents because the target student population were elementary students. All sites had less information for students across time. One reason for this may be that students who no longer needed intervention were no longer tracked. Thus, reported improvements may actually be smaller than what actually occurred. For instance, in Tacoma, the site that showed no improvement in unexcused absences, there were 71 total kids entered at intake, only 49 three months later, and only 14 nine months later. It is likely that at least some of the students who were not followed improved their attendance and no longer needed services. This same pattern is true for Contra Costa as well, however, the drop in number of students was only a little more than half nine months later (i.e., 50 at intake to 21, nine months later). Conclusion -- Overall, sites achieved what they intended given that they all worked with at risk families and children. Jacksonville, in particular, was extremely successful given that their population was largely African-American, poor, and had the highest number of unemployed families. They made excellent improvement in attendance and achievement. Because three sites reported on less than 75 students, it is possible that success was greater in these programs than the current data suggest, assuming they served more students than were reported. In general, the elementary-level truancy issues may be easier to deal with because the children are not “deep-end” yet and the parents are the primary focus. Older truants are likely to have more challenges and thus may require more intensive services. Details: Denver, CO: National Center for School Engagement, 2006. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 7, 2011 at: http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/Re-EngagingYouthinSchoolEvaluationoftheTruancyDemonstrationProject.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/Re-EngagingYouthinSchoolEvaluationoftheTruancyDemonstrationProject.pdf Shelf Number: 122005 Keywords: School DropoutsStatus OffendersTruancy |
Author: Heilbrunn, Joanna Zorn Title: Pieces of the Truancy Jigsaw: A Literature Review Summary: Communities across the nation are taking a renewed interest in the problem of poor school attendance. Truancy reduction programs designed to serve students who have attendance problems are rapidly being organized according to a number of models. Some are school-based, others court-based, and some operate through community service agencies. All share the same general purposes: to improve school attendance in the short term, with the longer term goals of raising grades and encouraging high school graduation for students who are at risk of dropping out. As the search intensifies for ways to nip truancy in the bud and reverse established patterns of school skipping, more people are seeking sources of information about the causes and outcomes of poor attendance, and about practices that effectively reduce truancy. In general, the literature surrounding truancy is in its infancy. Researchers are just beginning to add studies on school attendance to the vast quantity of work on at-risk and delinquent youth. This document seeks to summarize what we know to date, and point to areas in need of further study. Details: Denver, CO: National Center for School Engagement, 2007. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 31, 2012 at http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/PiecesoftheTruancyJigsawALiteratureReview.pdf Year: 2007 Country: United States URL: http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/Admin/Resources/Resources/PiecesoftheTruancyJigsawALiteratureReview.pdf Shelf Number: 122056 Keywords: Juvenile OffendersSchool CrimeTruancy |
Author: Virginia. The Virginia Commission on Youth Title: Study of Truancy & School Dropout Prevention Summary: This study originated at the Commission on Youth’s April 23, 2008, meeting, during which the Commission adopted a two-year plan to study truancy and dropout prevention in Virginia. Specifically, the Commission was to study the provisions set forth in House Bill 1263 (Appendix A), to include a review of policies and procedures that address truancy and dropout prevention, including enforcement of compulsory attendance laws. As part of the study, the Commission established an Advisory Group consisting of stakeholder representatives, including members of the Commission, the Virginia 2 Department of Education, law enforcement and court agencies, child and family advocacy groups, and parent organizations. Although students were not official members of the Advisory Group, the Commission sought student input by inviting youth to speak at Advisory Group meetings and roundtables. Details: Richmond, VA: The Virginia Commission on Youth, 2010. 68p. Source: Final Report: Internet Resource: Accessed April 15, 2012 at http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/fc86c2b17a1cf388852570f9006f1299/9e96abbe33032fb6852577f90077957f/$FILE/RD392.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United States URL: http://leg2.state.va.us/dls/h&sdocs.nsf/fc86c2b17a1cf388852570f9006f1299/9e96abbe33032fb6852577f90077957f/$FILE/RD392.pdf Shelf Number: 124975 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionLegislationSchool DropoutsTruancy |
Author: Idaho State Police Title: An Evaluation of a Comprehensive Community Initiative: Switch-Track Summary: Canyon County, Idaho has historically been a gang and crime prone area partly due to its higher level of poverty and younger population. Knowing that truancy puts students at risk of becoming adult criminal offenders, the Caldwell Police Chief and The United Way of the Treasure Valley helped bring together community organizations to focus efforts on at-risk youth to reduce truancy. Through collaborative efforts Switch-Track was successful in developing inhouse attendance courts in two school districts and a formal Truancy Magistrate Court to criminally prosecute juveniles and parents who fail to abide by attendance court mandates. The Switch-Track initiative was also successful in supporting law enforcement drug and gang strategies and community prevention programs. Details: Idaho: Planning, Grants, and Research, Statistical Analysis Center, Idaho State Police, 2012. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2012 at http://www.isp.idaho.gov/pgr/Research/documents/SwitchTrackFinal.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.isp.idaho.gov/pgr/Research/documents/SwitchTrackFinal.pdf Shelf Number: 125089 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (Idaho)Community Participation (Idaho)Delinquency Prevention (Idaho)Police-Community Partnerships (Idaho)Truancy |
Author: Mackie, Alan Title: Evaluation of the Youth Inclusion Programme: Phase 2 Summary: The Youth Inclusion Programme incorporated 72 projects located in many of the most deprived neighbourhoods in England and Wales. The purpose of the programme was to reintegrate into mainstream society young people most ‘at risk’ of school or social exclusion, truancy or offending. The programme identified and worked with 50 of the young people deemed by local agencies to be most at risk in each neighbourhood. In addition to working with this core 50, projects also sought to engage a wider group of young people in the area. Participation was entirely voluntary. The overall objective of the programme during Phase 2 was ‘to reduce youth crime within the neighbourhood’. To help the programme achieve this objective, the Board set four supporting targets. These included two process targets, which related to how the programme should operate: • to ensure that at least 75% of the identified core group were engaged • to ensure the core 50 who were engaged received at least five hours of appropriate interventions per week. In addition, there were two outcome targets, which related to what the programme should deliver: • to reduce arrest rates among the core group by 70%, compared with the 12 months prior to their engagement • to ensure that 90% of those in the engaged core group were in suitable fulltime education, training or employment (ETE). This report presents the findings of the evaluation of Phase 2 of the programme, which ran from April 2003 to the end of April 2006. As such, the report describes the programme in its second phase and the findings relate to the time of writing, May 2006. The evaluation was tasked with describing the operation of the programme and also measuring its success in meeting its targets, but did not aim to address the impact of the programme in reducing youth crime. Details: London: Youth Justice Board, 2012. 164p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 1, 2012 at: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/8444/1/Evaluation_of_the_Youth_Inclusion_Programme_-_Phase_2_%28Full_report%29.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://dera.ioe.ac.uk/8444/1/Evaluation_of_the_Youth_Inclusion_Programme_-_Phase_2_%28Full_report%29.pdf Shelf Number: 126183 Keywords: At-Risk Youth (U.K.)Delinquency PreventionJuvenile OffendersTruancy |
Author: Maynard, Brandy R. Title: Indicated Truancy Interventions: Effects on School Attendance among Chronic Truant Students Summary: Truancy is a significant problem in the U.S. and in other countries around the world. Truancy has been linked to serious immediate and far-reaching consequences for youth, families, and schools and communities, leading researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to try to understand and to address the problem. Although numerous and significant steps have been taken at the local, state, and national levels to reduce truancy, the rates of truancy have at best remained stable or at worst been on the rise, depending on the indicator utilized to assess truancy rates. The costs and impact of chronic truancy are significant, with both short- and long-term implications for the truant youth as well as for the family, school, and community. Although several narrative reviews and one meta-analysis of attendance and truancy interventions have attempted to summarize the extant research, there are a number of limitations to these reviews. It is imperative that we systematically synthesize and examine the evidence base to provide a comprehensive picture of interventions that are being utilized to intervene with chronic truants, to identify interventions that are effective and ineffective, and to identify gaps and areas in which more research needs to be conducted to better inform practice and policy. Details: Oslo: The Campbell Collaboration, 2012. 84p. Source: Campbell Systematic Reviews 2012:10: Internet Resource: Accessed September 4, 2012 at http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/2136/ Year: 2012 Country: United States URL: http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/download/2136/ Shelf Number: 126250 Keywords: At-risk YouthCrime PreventionDelinquency PreventionEvaluative StudiesJuvenile OffendersTruancy |
Author: Heilbrunn, Joanna Zorn Title: The Costs and Benefits of Three Intensive Interventions with Colorado Truants Summary: In recent years, truancy has become a focus of policy discussions across the country. School districts, juvenile court, and police departments across the map are trying new methods to keep children in school1. There are several good reasons for this. At a minimum, a truant child is likely to be ill-prepared for skilled work, an increasingly serious problem given the shrinking demand for unskilled labor in the United States. One undereducated individual has a personal problem, but when urban areas are home to large numbers of residents who lack a high school diploma, the problem becomes both social and economic. On one hand, the business community has been vocal about the difficulty of finding an adequately trained workforce. On the other hand, United States residents who are unable to earn an adequate living look to various welfare programs for help, such as income assistance (TANF), Medicaid, Food Stamps, and Women, Infants and Children (WIC). These programs are funded by taxpayers, many of whom are reluctant contributors. Furthermore, research has consistently shown problems with school to be a risk factor for drug and alcohol use and for involvement with the juvenile justice system. Although it would be inaccurate and unfair to characterize all, or even most, truants as delinquents, it is quite accurate to recognize that a majority of criminals begin their careers of social deviance with truancy. Truancy is a red flag that may signal any of a number of problems in a child's home, ranging from poverty, to mental health, to physical abuse. And it warns of a child who is undaunted by breaking the social convention of school attendance, and who has time on his or her hands. Such a youth may be ripe for induction into criminal or self-destructive activity. Despite the new trend toward truancy reduction, and the general belief that truancy is a precursor to other more serious problems, little research has been done regarding the effectiveness of truancy reduction approaches, or their relative costs and benefits. Most published information to date tends to be more descriptive than analytical. This paper begins to fill that gap by reporting the costs and the estimated benefits of three truancy reduction programs in Colorado: The Adams County Truancy Reduction Project, the Denver Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project, and Pueblo's Project Respect. These three programs are of interest both for the diversity and the similarity of their approaches. All three treat truancy as a family problem, and rely on intensive case management intervention with the family. All try to be advocates for the families, and build upon the families' strengths, rather than take a punitive approach. All make frequent use of referrals to outside agencies, such as health clinics or drug and alcohol rehabilitation providers, and they make communication with these service providers part of their regular process. Yet they differ markedly in terms of their budget, scope, and where they fall in the larger picture of school, district, and court policy. The Adams County project is court-initiated. It is available to all the school districts in the county as an alternative to the regular court system; some of the districts choose to use the program, and some do not. The Denver project is run by the Community Assessment Center, and is an add-on to a much larger district-run truancy reduction effort. Both these interventions follow several levels of school and district-sponsored efforts, and come as a last resort before initiating court proceedings. The Pueblo project is wide-scale, with a large budget, and is active in every Title One school in Pueblo's urban school district. This project is school-based, and constitutes the universe of intervention efforts made prior to a court appearance. The Denver program focuses on middle school students, while the other programs are available to children of all grade levels. A thorough description of each of these programs may be found in Appendices A through C at the end of this report. This paper shows that the costs of each of the three truancy reduction projects, and each of the three court systems, pale in comparison to the enormous costs of high school failure and of juvenile delinquency. In light of the benefits of high school graduation, all the approaches to truancy reduction reviewed here likely pay for themselves many times over. Neither the court approach nor the case management models are shown to be demonstrably better than the other. It is most likely that the best model includes a court system that works in conjunction with social workers and school districts to provide a coherent and consistent approach to truancy in which children are not allowed to slip through the cracks. Details: Denver, CO: National Center for School Engagement, 2003. 42p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.509.453&rep=rep1&type=pdf Year: 2003 Country: United States URL: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.509.453&rep=rep1&type=pdf Shelf Number: 130048 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionFamily InterventionsSchool AttendanceStatus OffendersTruancyTruants |
Author: Williams, Natalie Title: Lessons to learn: Exploring the links between running away and absence from school Summary: Every year, 100,000 children run away from home or care in the UK. They often run from serious problems at home such as family breakdown, abuse, neglect or problems at school such as bullying or unmet special educational needs. When children run away they are at risk of physical abuse, sexual exploitation or being forced to resort to highly dangerous survival strategies such as stealing or begging to survive. Our research shows that children who run away are three times more likely to be absent from school. Children spend more time at school than anywhere else. It is crucial that school and education professionals are able to recognise running away as a cry for help. This report explores the link between problems at school, including absences and exclusions, and running away. It makes a series of recommendations about how young people at risk should be supported and how professionals can better meet their needs. Key messages - Children who are absent from school are more than three times as likely to have run away. - Young people usually run away because of problems at home or school. Others may run away because they are being sexually exploited or become involved in crime. - Schools professionals need to have a better understanding of the risks faced by children when they run away and the warning signs that they may be running away. - Schools and local authorities must ensure that absences are correctly recorded and analyse data for patterns of running away. - Schools should ensure they initiate an assessment of need when a young person is running away or is persistently absent from school. - Schools need to have access to multi-agency teams that can intervene early and provide holistic support to young people who run away and their parents. Details: London: The Children's Society, 2012. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 18, 2015 at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/tcs/lessons-to-learn_final.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/tcs/lessons-to-learn_final.pdf Shelf Number: 136810 Keywords: RunawaysSchool AttendanceStatus OffendersTruancy |
Author: Finlay, Krystina A. Title: Final Evaluation Report: Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project, Houston, TX Summary: This report details the evaluation outcomes of two components of the Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project: police visits to the homes of truant students and case management for truants. The goals of this portion of the evaluation were to 1) assess the effectiveness of these two components in reducing absences and improving grades, 2) assess the effectiveness of case management in improving school engagement, 3) to a lesser extent examine the relationship between grades and attendance in general, and 4) compare the costs and benefits of case management. The majority of data for this report came from 2004-2005 school year records, student and parent surveys, and police records. The Gulfton area, and specifically the target high school, Lee, is primarily Hispanic. More than 70% of Gulfton students have limited English proficiency, compared with 27.6% in Houston Independent School District and 13.4% statewide. A large part of the community is made up of Mexican immigrants. In addition, Gulfton's median family income of $18,733 is nearly 30% below the city's median. In the 97-98 school year, 75% of Gulfton students were eligible for free/reduced lunch. Two main components of the truancy reduction effort in Houston were examined. The first, the practice of police visiting a truant students' home, was found to be effective in improving attendance, especially within the two weeks immediately following the visit. Long term effectiveness was not established, although it is possible that for some students this practice has a long term effect. Students who received these visits typically missed school for a variety of reasons. For instance, 40% percent of students reported being new to the school, and thus may have had difficulty with the enrollment process or simply getting into the routine necessary for daily attendance. Sixty-five percent said they were failing classes and 58% said they had difficulty understanding homework and assignments. In addition, 71% said they needed academic help. Most often, officers referred students to academic tutoring and did not issue tickets for truancy. Case management services were not effective for the majority of students. The current study found that case management was primarily targeted at students who were most at-risk. Truants receiving case management were compared to truants not receiving case management to explore the effectiveness of case management. Findings suggested that truants who did not receive case management were not struggling as much as those receiving services. In general, attendance, grades and school engagement were worse for truants receiving case management than for truants who were not given the services. Nevertheless, it was found that case management did not improve attendance nor did it improve grades or school engagement for the group as a whole. However, this is not to say that case management was ineffective for every single student. The effect of improving just one student's attendance and grades resulted in an estimated return of investment of over $4.00 for every $1.00 spent in providing case management. This fact is reason enough to continue the Houston Truancy Reduction case management efforts. Given that home visits from police are successful in improving short-term attendance, it is recommended that follow-up with the student occur within two weeks of the visit. Academic tutoring and other activities to increase school engagement should be provided immediately to ensure long term success. In general, case management may be more successful for truants if provided earlier in their school careers. Achievement levels were very low for the students involved in case management. Reaching these students before school failure is eminent would likely improve the outcomes of services. Details: Denver, CO: Colorado Foundation for Families and Children, 2006. 58p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 25, 2015 at: http://schoolengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/FinalEvaluationReportGulftonTruancyReductionDemonstrationProjectHoustonTX.pdf Year: 2006 Country: United States URL: http://schoolengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/FinalEvaluationReportGulftonTruancyReductionDemonstrationProjectHoustonTX.pdf Shelf Number: 136886 Keywords: At-Risk YouthSchool AttendanceStatus OffendersTruancyTruants |
Author: National Center for School Engagement Title: Innovations in Truancy Prevention Practice: An Inventory of Selected Collaborations from around the United States Summary: In June 2004, The National Center for School Engagement (NCSE) was commissioned by the National Truancy Prevention Association (NTPA) to examine truancy programs nationwide1. The purpose of doing this research was to inform NTPA about best practices in court-based truancy reduction programs, identify truancy efforts that are currently in existence nationwide, and determine training needs for truancy programs. To do this, NCSE completed three phases of work which included creating and marketing an online database of truancy programs, completing in-depth programmatic exploration of court involved truancy efforts, and dissemination of results. The first phase of the NTPA project began with the development of an online database to capture information about truancy programs across the country and to aid in the identification of court involved truancy programs. NCSE actively marketed the online registration system, which appeared on the NCSE website at www.truancyprevention.org (currently named www.schoolengagement.org). As of March 20, 2005, 65 programs/projects were registered. Fifty-four percent (35) of the programs in the registry provide direct services to truants. Sixty-two of the 65 programs reported taking a family-wide approach to serving their clients. The three most common barriers these programs reported are poor parental involvement and communication, difficulties collaborating with schools and school staff, and funding and budget concerns. One-third of the programs in the registry receive funding through a combination of sources and 22% receive federal grants. The second phase was to gain an in-depth look into court-based truancy programs. To do this NCSE conducted 12 interviews with judges and staff of selected promising programs that were specifically court involved. The goals of these interviews were to obtain more detailed information of court-based programs, identify challenges they face, ascertain effective practices, and find out whom the programs serve. These programs serve truant youth in a variety of ways. However, seven of the 12 programs included in this study are similar in that the main practice is to identify truant youth who are typically not delinquent and hold weekly truancy courts with Judges at the students' schools. These programs are similar in many ways and are discussed as a group called "Truancy Court Programs". Each program addresses truancy in a unique way, but all attempt to identify and help meet the needs of the family as a whole, rather than just the student. The judges and program staff often perform similar roles. For instance, the judges and other court personnel in NE, GA, and both programs in WI primarily provide referrals to the program, participate in collaboration and are seen as partners, but do not necessarily lead the program. The judges in the "Truancy Court Programs" are more often seen as leaders of the program, are active weekly participants, act as catalysts for change, and coordinate the program. In all programs, collaboration with entities outside of the courts exists. Partners vary widely, but often include the schools, superintendents, law enforcement, and social and community services. Identifying best practices is difficult because most court-based truancy reduction efforts have neither time nor staff to engage in formal external evaluation. In fact, funding and evaluation needs, in addition to program development and stakeholder buy in, were the most common challenges identified by these programs. Regardless of the lack of formal evaluation, many programs do have access to attendance and court records, and some track these as indicators of success. The majority report improved attendance since the programs' inceptions, and all have anecdotal data about individual students' successes. Best practices were identified mainly through what the interviewees have experienced to have worked. Details: National Center for School Engagement, 2005. 107p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 8, 2015 at: http://schoolengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/InnovationsinTruancyPreventionPracticeAnInventoryofSelectedCollaborationsfromaroundtheUnitedStates.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://schoolengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/InnovationsinTruancyPreventionPracticeAnInventoryofSelectedCollaborationsfromaroundtheUnitedStates.pdf Shelf Number: 136973 Keywords: At-Risk YouthDelinquency PreventionProblem-Solving CourtsSchool AttendanceStatus OffendersTruancy |
Author: Texas Appleseed Title: Class, Not Court: Reconsidering Texas' Criminalization of Truancy Summary: This report continues Texas Appleseed's school-to-prison pipeline work by delving into how Texas' approach to truancy is driving more children away from school and into the adult criminal courts. The report explores causes of truancy, evaluates the current approaches to addressing truancy, highlights the disproportionate impacts of truancy charges on certain groups of students, and makes recommendations for ways that the Texas Legislature, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), and school districts can increase attendance and help children in a meaningful way. - Details: Austin, TX: Texas Appleseed, 2015. 100p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2015 at: https://www.texasappleseed.org/sites/default/files/TruancyReport_All_FINAL_SinglePages.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.texasappleseed.org/sites/default/files/TruancyReport_All_FINAL_SinglePages.pdf Shelf Number: 137322 Keywords: At-Risk YouthSchool AttendanceSchool-to-Prison PipelineStatus OffensesTruancy |
Author: Child Rights International Network Title: Discrimination and Disenfranchisement: A Global Report on Status Offences (Third Edition) Summary: Status offences criminalise actions for only certain groups of people, most commonly because of their religion, sexuality or age. Curfews, truancy laws and vagrancy offences can penalise children just for being in public, while "disobedience" laws can transform activities that would be perfectly lawful for an adult into a criminal offence for a child. Even where a status offence does not explicitly single out children, children will often be disproportionately affected and those children with the lowest levels of resources and the least available support from home or family environments will be the most affected. Because police are given great discretion to question and investigate children's activities, especially when they are without adult supervision, disadvantaged and street children are targeted because they are forced to spend more time in public spaces and face entrenched cultural biases that equate poverty with criminality. Most importantly, regardless of their backgrounds or situations at home, status offences are a violation of all children's rights. They violate children's rights because they target what adults consider to be problematic behaviour in children but acceptable once above the age of majority. Thus, limits are placed on children's behaviour that are not tolerated by adults. The United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency have spoken out against these limits, stating that status offences stigmatise, victimise, and criminalise young people. These guidelines, the UN Human Rights Council, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the United Nations World Report on Violence Against Children have all called for the abolition of status offences to achieve equal treatment for children and adults. CRIN first published a global report on status offences in 2009, looking at the ways that laws on curfew violations, disobedience, begging, truancy and suspected gang membership affected children around the world. Seven years later, we are publishing an updated report addressing the ways that status offences have developed, the new forms they have taken and the way that laws that do not exclusively target children can indirectly criminalise children based on their age. In this report, we also look at the way that these laws and practices have been challenged. CRIN believes that status offences are a form of age discrimination and should be eliminated. Status offences are not only unfair, they curtail the freedom children need to grow and develop. They prevent children from becoming integrated into adult society. Ultimately, then, status offences not only fail to respect children's rights, they are in conflict with children's best interests. With this in mind, it is time to call on every country to abolish status offences and protect children from harmful age discrimination. Details: London: CRIN, 2016. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 23, 2016 at: https://www.crin.org/sites/default/files/crin_status_offences_global_report_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: https://www.crin.org/sites/default/files/crin_status_offences_global_report_0.pdf Shelf Number: 138788 Keywords: Anti-social Behavior Begging Curfew Status Offenders Truancy |
Author: National Center for School Engagement Title: Jacksonville, Florida Case Study: Evidence of Effectiveness in Reducing Truancy Summary: In recent years, truancy has become a focus of policy discussions across the country. School districts, juvenile courts, and police departments across the map are trying new methods to keep children in school (Cantelon and LeBoeuf, 1997). The business community has been vocal about the need for a workforce with a more solid foundation in the basic skills that public education is expected to provide. In response to concerns about school attendance and achievement, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention funded several model community-based truancy reduction programs to operate in various cities nationwide. One of these programs is located in Jacksonville. This chapter reports the results of a six-year evaluation of that program. Subsequent chapters will report on the progress being made in two other OJJPD-funded programs in Houston, TX and Seattle, WA. It is "common knowledge" among those who work in the field of juvenile justice that truancy leads to a number of undesirable outcomes, yet the body of research on truancy - its causes, outcomes, and methods of prevention - is still limited. Retrospective studies of juvenile delinquents show th at truancy is common among that group, and attitudes toward school are poor. However, the only prospective study - one that begins with the population of truants and investigates th eir propensity to be involved with delinquent behavior - is being conducted by the Study Group on Very Young Offenders, sponsored by OJJDP. This longitudinal study, conducted in Denver, CO; Rochester, NY; and Pittsburgh, PA, shows that truancy is one of the early behaviors that may eventually lead to serious delinquency (Loeber and Farrington, 2000). They identified truancy as a "disruptive behavior" a nd found that one quarter to one half of disruptive children are at risk of becoming juvenile delinquents. Results of the recent National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health show that frequent problems with school work is the single greatest risk factor for four of the five risky behaviors studied: cigarette smoking, under-age alcohol use, weapon-related violence and suicidal thoughts and attempts (Blum, Beuhring, and Rinehart, 2000). With the new trend toward truancy reduction and the general belief that truancy is a precursor to other more serious problems, the National Center for School Engagement has been conducting one of the few longitudinal studies regarding the effectiveness of truancy reduction approaches, and their relative costs and benefits. The National Center for School Engagement has conducted a proc ess evaluation of seven community-based truancy reduction programs, and an outcome evaluation of three of the sites; Jacksonville is one of these. Specifically, the comprehensive process, outcome and cost-benefit evaluation have been conducted with the Truancy Arbitration Program in Jacksonville, Florida. The following research questi ons were used to guide this study: Research Questions 1. What is the relative cost effectiveness of these interventions given their propensity to produce high school gradua tion and deter criminal activity? 2. What specific parent, school, and community interventions are consistently effective in improving school attendance, attachment, and academic achievement for truant youth? Details: Denver, CO: Colorado Foundation for Families and Children, 2005. 18p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 4, 2016 at: http://schoolengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/JacksonvilleFloridaCaseStudyEvidenceofEffectivenessinReducingTruancy.pdf Year: 2005 Country: United States URL: http://schoolengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/JacksonvilleFloridaCaseStudyEvidenceofEffectivenessinReducingTruancy.pdf Shelf Number: 130049 Keywords: School AttendanceStatus OffensesTruancy |
Author: Coker, Elizabeth Title: Truancy in Washington State: Filing Trends, Juvenile Court Responses, and the Educational Outcomes of Petitioned Truant Youth Summary: Truancy and its correlates, school disengagement and failure, negatively impact life chances for children, the well-being of communities where they live, and the vitality of the state as a whole. The Washington State legislature passed the 1995 "Becca Laws" in response to the case of Becca Hedman, whose chronic truancy and running away from home led to her tragic murder at the age of 12. The Becca Laws are intended to empower families, schools and students to jointly address and overcome barriers to attendance with support from the juvenile courts as necessary1. Since that time, local juvenile courts and school districts across Washington have implemented a variety of programs and practices designed to fulfill the requirements of the Becca Laws while respecting the unique strengths and challenges present in their own communities. Some of these attempts have failed while others have survived and even shown promise over time. All are potentially instructive. Twenty years later, it is time to capitalize on these experiences in order to develop effective truancy intervention programs that reach the students they are meant to serve. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of Community Truancy Boards (CTBs), and yet these model programs are available in only a handful of Washington State juvenile courts. The truancy petition process is meant to provide families, schools and communities with the legal backing needed to enforce school attendance by identifying and removing barriers to attendance, yet barely one-third of eligible students receive truancy petitions. Of those who do receive truancy petitions, few attend school districts that have quality court-school truancy intervention programs in place. The truancy petition process represents the letter of Washington's truancy laws, but ignores their spirit and intent. The intent of the Becca Laws is to unite schools, courts, communities and families in an effort to provide the services needed to help students to overcome their own personal barriers to school attendance. Truancy petitions are a means to this end, if used in that spirit. This is the second in a series of WSCCR reports describing statewide trends in truancy petition filings, school performance and outcomes for petitioned youth, and current truancy prevention and intervention programs in juvenile courts across the state. This report describes the current condition of truancy practices in Washington State from the perspective of the juvenile courts; outlines recent and historical trends in truancy petition filings; and reports on the educational progress and 3-year outcomes of students who were petitioned truant during the 2010/11 academic year (AY). Drawing from a statewide survey of juvenile courts, linked juvenile court and education data, and other sources, the two studies reported herein describe the common educational pathways of truant youths, both before and after court contact, and provide an overview of the current range of juvenile court responses to truancy in Washington State Details: Olympia, WA: Washington State Center for Court Research, 2015. 86p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 22, 2016 at: https://www.courts.wa.gov/wsccr/docs/WSCCRTruancyUpdate2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: https://www.courts.wa.gov/wsccr/docs/WSCCRTruancyUpdate2015.pdf Shelf Number: 140422 Keywords: Juvenile CourtSchool AttendanceStatus OffensesTruancyTruancy Court |
Author: George, Thomas Title: Truancy in Washington State: Trends, Student Characteristics, and the Impact of Receiving a Truancy Petition Summary: Using multiple research methods, this study examined recent trends, student characteristics, and the impact of receiving a truancy petition on youth outcomes over the past several years and from a variety of perspectives. It draws on numerous published reports, a newly created educational research database containing nearly one million student records, over 1,000 responses on a recently developed risk and needs assessment administered to youths and their parents, and a comprehensive court contact and recidivism database detailing youths' court histories Details: Olympia, WA: Washington State Center for Court Research, 2011. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 22, 2016 at: https://www.courts.wa.gov/wsccr/docs/TruancyEvalReport.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: https://www.courts.wa.gov/wsccr/docs/TruancyEvalReport.pdf Shelf Number: 145576 Keywords: Juvenile CourtSchool AttendanceStatus OffensesTruancyTruancy Court |
Author: Crumpton, C. David Title: Assessing School Attendance Problem and Truancy Intervention in Maryland: A Synthesis of Evidence from Baltimore City and the Lower Eastern Shore Summary: The Maryland Judiciary shares responsibility with Maryland's Executive Branch and local school systems in enforcing the state's mandatory school attendance and truancy laws. An innovation to address the truancy issue was introduced in 2004 when the General Assembly authorized the establishment of the Truancy Reduction Pilot Program (TRPP) in the First Judicial Circuit comprised of four counties located on Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore. The authorizing legislation also required the Judiciary to perform an evaluation of the program. This initiative stimulated an intensive process of policy and program analysis by the Judiciary concerning the most appropriate, efficient and effective roles of courts and judges in responding to truancy. This effort was given additional impetus as the result of the State Justice Institute's (SJI) award of a grant to the Judiciary in 2008. Under the SJI grant, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) evaluated three alternative approaches to truancy intervention in Baltimore City and the First Judicial Circuit (including TRPP), assessed the context of truancy in Baltimore City and the First Judicial Circuit and synthesized the findings from this research to support an assessment of the school attendance and truancy intervention policy and program framework from the perspective of the Judiciary. The current report represents this synthesis. The Maryland programs discussed in this report represent a continuum of court involvement, with no judicial presence in BSMART, participation of judges in an unofficial capacity in TCP, and judges exercising their full authority in TRPP. Process and outcome evaluations provide some level of support for continuing the BSMART, TCP, and TRPP interventions. Research has shown that truancy is related to a number of negative social and behavioral outcomes, including poor school performance, high dropout rates, and increased involvement in juvenile and adult criminal behavior. Truancy is typically caused by factors from four levels: the individual, the family, the school, and the neighborhood and community. Recommended approaches to reducing truancy emphasize family involvement, interagency collaboration, provision of services that address the needs of students and their families, and incentives and sanctions. The contextual analysis provided documentation of the levels of truancy in school districts across Maryland and the relationship of truancy levels to other variables. Qualitative information provided by respondents involved in school attendance issues in the study jurisdictions mirrored the national perspective that truancy is related to a complex, multi-level set of factors and requires holistic solutions. Statewide in Maryland, 2.25% of students (or roughly 20,000 students) were identified as habitually truant during the 2009-2010 school year because they were absent without a valid excuse for more than 20% of school days. The rate of habitual truancy varies by jurisdiction. Among the jurisdictions that are the focus of this report, the counties on the Lower Eastern Shore (Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester) have habitual truancy rates ranging from 0.29% to 1.49%, whereas Baltimore City has a habitual truancy rate of 8.00%. Although the overall rates for the counties on the Lower Eastern Shore are relatively low, in three of the four counties, truancy rates in individual schools exceeded the state average. Analysis of data across Maryland school systems revealed the following relationships between truancy and other variables: strong positive correlations between rates of habitual truancy and dropout rates, African American students as a percentage of school enrollment, special education students as a percentage of school enrollment, and teen birth rates strong negative correlations between rates of habitual truancy and white students as a percentage of school enrollment and percentages of adults in the community who are high school graduates moderate positive correlation between rates of habitual truancy and poverty rates weak positive correlation between rates of habitual truancy and percent of children living in poverty weak negative correlation between rates of habitual truancy and median household incomes no significant correlation between rates of habitual truancy and unemployment rates or rates of referrals for juvenile delinquency With a few exceptions, Baltimore City and the counties on the Lower Eastern Shore rank among the highest in the state in those variables for which positive correlations with truancy were found (e.g., dropout rates, poverty levels, and teen birth rates) and among the lowest in the state in those variables that have negative correlations with truancy (e.g., median household income and high school completion rates). Knowledgeable informants, including parents, school officials, legal officials, and service providers, identified the following factors as contributing to truancy problems in the five study jurisdictions: impact of poverty, value placed on education, individual needs of children, inadequate monitoring, transportation challenges, safety, and family difficulties, While acknowledging the need to hold parents accountable, respondents generally favored non-punitive solutions to truancy that address the needs of families. The Dropout Prevention Resource Guide published by the Maryland State Department of Education identifies 265 initiatives in Maryland schools that address many of the issues that can impact school attendance. These initiatives include alternative programs, alternative school schedules, alternative schools, attendance accountability, clinical interventions, community service, enhanced counseling, graduation preparation, holistic intervention, justice system coordination, life skill development, mentoring, student parenting, specialized staff, tutoring. The Dropout Prevention Resource Guide does not present school attendance as a central issue to be addressed in reducing dropouts, however, and MSDE does not appear to have a policy or operating focus on truancy and school attendance problems. The three Maryland programs that were evaluated are Baltimore Students: Mediating About Reducing Truancy (BSMART), Truancy Court Program (TCP) and Truancy Reduction Pilot Program (TRPP). BSMART is operated by the University of Maryland School of Law's Center for Dispute Resolution in conjunction with Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS). TCP is operated by the University of Baltimore School of Law's Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) in conjunction with BCPSS. TRPP evaluated in these reports are operated in the Circuit Courts for Dorchester County, Somerset County, Wicomico County and Worcester County. These programs reflect the national literature concerning the intent and design of truancy interventions. They have a problem-solving orientation, involve both parents and students, and are progressive responses involving interagency collaboration. These programs also represent a continuum of court involvement, with no judicial presence in BSMART, Details: Baltimore: Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts, 2011. 111p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 16, 2017 at: http://www.igsr.umd.edu/applied_research/Pubs/Truancy%20Intervention%20Synthesis%20Report.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.igsr.umd.edu/applied_research/Pubs/Truancy%20Intervention%20Synthesis%20Report.pdf Shelf Number: 131205 Keywords: Delinquency PreventionPovertySchool AttendanceSchool DropoutsTruancy |