Strong Community Partnership to Address Truancy

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Strong Community Partnership to Address Truancy

• Presented by
• Kathleen Perge Community Health Center
• Joe Petrucelli Summit County Truancy Task Force
• Anne Vainer Barberton Public Schools
• Summit County, Ohio

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Part I A Community Response

• Presented by
• Joe Petrucelli
• Summit County, Ohio
• Juvenile Court

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The Truancy CollaborationCommunity
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Ohio Senate Bill 181

• Passed in 2000, this law requires children to
  meet a minimum attendance requirement
• Failure to do so results in
• Mandatory mediation or parenting classes
• 70 hours of community service
• Charges of child neglect or contributing to
  delinquency
• Fines up to 2,500
• Jail sentence up to 6 months

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The Summit County Truancy Task Force

• The Task Force was developed to help Summit
  County students and families adhere to the
  guidelines of SB 181
• The result of the Task Force?
• Project T.H.R.I.V.E.
• Community Collaboration
• Community Education Awareness
• Streamline Referral Process
• Countywide Consistence in Court Filings

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Education Awareness

• Educated school personnel, parents and community
  about Senate Bill 181
• Encouraged school districts to revise policies
  regarding school attendance and truancy
• Media campaigns
• School-based court presentations
• Judges annual truancy letter
• Court in the Community

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Court Referral Process

• Referral Checklist
• Truancy
• Failure to Send

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Part IISchool is Serious Business

• Presented by
• Anne Vainer
• Barberton Public Schools

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The Truancy Collaboration School
School
Community
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Changes in Education

• In the 1970s
• In the 1980s
• In the 1990s
• Source 2001 Vollmer and Associates

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Board Policy Regarding Attendance

• School Based Intervention
• Teacher
• Attendance Worker
• Counselor
• School Psychologist
• Principal / Assistant Principal /
  
• Unit Principal

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Truant children are more likely as adults to

• Have poor health
• Need mental health services
• Have lower paying jobs
• Increased chance of living in poverty
• More reliance on welfare support
• Increased likelihood of incarceration
• Source Bell, Rosen Dynlacht, 1994
• Dryfoos, 1990 Hawkins Catalona, 1995
• Insersoll Lefoeuf, 1997 Rohrman, 1993.

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Outcome of TruancyIncome by Education

• Statistics show The more education you get, the
  higher earning potential you will have!

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In the last 20 years

• Earning levels of drop-outs doubled
• Earning levels of college graduates tripled
• Recent drop-outs will earn 200,000 less than
  high school graduates in their lifetime and
  800,000 less than college graduates
• Source Focus Adolescent Services

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Work experience of average annual earnings
1997-1999

Source US Census Bureau, March 1998, 1999, 2000
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Part III Summit Countys model to address
truancy

• Presented by
• Kathleen Perge
• Community Health Center

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Family
School
The Truancy Collaboration
Community
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Summit County Juvenile Court Judge
Summit County Truancy Task Force
THRIVE School Liaisons
Summit County Juvenile Court
Community Health Center Project THRIVE
Joe Petrucelli Court Liaison
Barberton Schools
Kathleen Perge Project THRIVE Director
Cuyahoga Falls Schools
Woodridge Schools
Akron Public Schools
Case Manager
Case Manager
Case Manager
Case Manager
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Project THRIVE Goals

• Prevent substance abuse among
  at-risk students by
• Decreasing the number of student absences
• Increasing understanding of substance abuse
• Increasing familys knowledge of the
  correlation between truancy and substance abuse

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Project THRIVE Goals

• Reducing the number of school suspension for
  drug-related offenses
• Reducing substance-related criminal activity
• Adhering to Ohio mandate of 93 school attendance
  rates
• Decreasing recidivism of juvenile complaints of
  youth and families

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Collaboration is key

• Project THRIVE enrichment and prevention programs
  in 2003-04

• Akron Schools
• Youth Truancy Focus Groups
• Summit County Juvenile Detention Center
• Sill Middle School Leadership and Mentoring Camp
• Akron Drug Free Schools Say Yes to
  School
• The University of Akron National Youth
  Sports Program

• Akron After School
• AMHA Honey-Locust Program
• AMHA Van Buren Homes Teen Group
• AMHA and Boys Girls Club
• Perkins Middle School Activity Central
• First Tee of Akron

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Program Modalities
The Truancy Continuum

• Truancy Awareness
• Early Intervention
• Intervention
• Treatment
• Intervention and Prevention Services
• Mediation

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Attendance Outcome Data for SY 2004 (N137)

• Successful By the end of the school year, almost
  60 of the students decreased number of absences
  and improved their attendance rate during the
  school year.
• No Change 26 missed three or more additional
  school days.
• No Service 10 transferred from their referring
  school district and were non-compliant.
• Court Referral Only 4 of these families were
  referred to Juvenile Court for violation of S.B.
  181.
• Source School Year 2003-04 THRIVE Annual
• Evaluation by Dr. Rajade M. Berry

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Project THRIVE outcome data by school year

• Successful refers to the number of students who
  decreased their absences and improved their
  overall attendance rate during the school year
• No Change refers to the number of students who
  missed three or more additional school days
• No Service refers to the number of students who
  transferred from their referring school district
  and were non-compliant with the program
• Court Referral refers to the number of cases who
  were referred to the Juvenile Court for violating
  Ohios truancy law, Senate Bill 181
• Data Source Final Evaluation Reports

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Frequency distribution of court cases

• Note Data reported for 2002-03 is as of May 2003
• Date Source Final Evaluation Reports

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The Truancy Collaboration
Family
School
Lessons Learned
Community
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For more information

• Visit our websites
• Community Health Center
• www.commhealthcenter.org
• Summit County Juvenile Court
• http//www.co.summit.oh.us