Rethinking Systems to Tackle Truancy

Rethinking systems to tackle truancy

Vidhya AnanthakrishnanVera Institute of Justice

Jodi MartinClark County Juvenile Court

Background

What are Status Offenses?

• Status Offenses: Non-criminal behaviors prohibited by law only because of an individual’s status as a minor

• These include truancy, running away, incorrigibility, liquor law violations, and curfew violations

• Also known as: Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS) Children in Need of Services (CHINS) Conduct Indicating a Need for Supervision (CINS) Families in Need of Services (FINS) Families with Service Needs (FWSN)

Status Offenses: The History

• The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) of 1974 prohibited secure detention or locked confinement for youth charged with status offenses

• A 1980 amendment to the JJDPA included the Valid Court Order (VCO) exception, giving judges the option of placing status offenders in locked detention

• While many states prohibit or do not use the VCO exception, 27 continue to use it in status offense cases

National Estimates of Petitioned Cases

Curfew Violations

10%

Drinking Alcohol

20%

Running Away9%

Incorrigibility12%

Other9%

Truancy40%

Status Offenses Cases in Court (2011): >116,000

Why is truancy reform needed?Despite the noncriminal nature of truancy, national estimates for 2011 show:

• > 2000 detentions

•> 1000 out of home

placements

Causes for Skipping School? • Logistics

• Missing the bus• Caring for younger siblings

• Transitions in school/home

• Access to resources

• School Anxiety• Relationship difficulties,• Mental health issues• Response to academic

expectations from self, parents or school

Why is truancy reform needed?

• Court based approaches do not work!

• Cost of system involvement is high

• More effective alternatives exist

What System Change Looks Like

Slide 10 •June 12, 2015

Promising Approaches to Truancy

Individual attention in school

Services in school

Pooling stakeholder resourcesTiered responses to youth

4IDEAS

Slide 11 •June 12, 2015

SORC Resources

Slide 12 •June 12, 2015

Toolkit Module 1: Structuring System Change

• Step 1: Identify and Recruit Stakeholders

• Step 2: Prepare Stakeholders for System Change Work

Slide 13 •June 12, 2015

Toolkit Module 2: Using Local Information to Guide System Change

• Step 1: System assessment 

• Step 2: Review policies  

• Step 3: Quantitative data

• Step 4: Qualitative data

• Step 5: Local service capacity 

• Step 6: Analyze the data

Slide 14 •June 12, 2015

Toolkit Module 3: Planning and Implementing System Change

• Step 1: Find promising examples

• Step 2: Set priorities  

• Step 3: What are your aspirations?

• Step 4: Design the reform

• Step 5: Implement it! 

Slide 15 •June 12, 2015

Toolkit Module 4: Monitoring and Sustaining System Change

• Step 1: Monitor performance

• Step 2: Process evaluation 

• Step 3: Outcome evaluation

• Step 4: Sustain positive change

Clark County Truancy ProcessA partnership between Educational Service District 112, Clark County School Districts, and Clark County Juvenile Court

Jodi MartinClark County Juvenile Court

Truancy Reform in Clark County

• 1997 – Created the Clark County Truancy Project in response to Washington State’s Truancy Law, the Becca Bill

• 2009 – Developed early interventions, outside of court, in response to Court of Appeals ruling on Bellevue v. ES

Models for Change

Models for Change enabled Clark County to evaluate and enhance the local truancy process

Our Research

• ACEs Study – WSU Vancouver (March 2009)

• Process Evaluation of CCTP – Vera Institute of Justice (July 2010)

• Qualitative Study of Truancy Court – AOC (Spring 2010)

• Outcome Evaluation – WSU Vancouver (January 2013)

Based on Research Findings and Recommendations, Clark County…

Developed the Clark County Truancy Workshop

Created Probation and Mentoring Intervention

Widened the net of partners to include representation from DCFS, mental health and substance abuse agencies.

Implemented screening tools to assess the mental health and substance abuse needs of truant youth.

Increased parental involvement by offering The Parent Project, a nationally recognized parent training program.

The Process

(Yellow indicates areas developed or enhanced as part of MfC)

The Process (cont.)

2013-2014

• 725 Truancy Petitions Filed

• 376 Youth and Families attended the workshop

• 81 Intervention Orders filed

Three Levels of Intervention/Support

Workshops • Presentation

• Provide resource information to youth and families

• Fast Track youth to CCTP services Tr

uancy

Proje

ct

• MAYSI-2• Develop plan• Refer to

services• Monitor

attendance• Offer classes

and activities

• Truancy Boards

Court Interve

ntion

• Intensive Case Management

• Mentors• WARNS• Court

ordered assessments and testing

Truancy Workshop Process

• Court Commissioner welcomes families. School Districts, ESD112 and Juvenile Court Staff provide a presentation on the Becca Bill, truancy process, attendance policies and the importance of education.

• Each family meets individually with their school district representative to develop a plan for re-engagement and complete paperwork.

• Families are provided information on local agencies and service providers.

Truancy Process Triangle

Survey ResultsParents and youth are benefitting from workshops.

What was the most important part of the workshop for you?

“knowing that the community cares” “meeting with district rep and knowing there are

other options.” “understanding the process and ... to know

people are here to help” “for my child to understand that he has a chance

to make better choices and of the consequences if he does not”

Clark County Truancy Project

The Truancy Project seeks to intervene with truant youth and their families to provide them a positive way to return to school and increase student achievement.

Case management activities include:

• Communicate with school staff and receive regular attendance reports

• Check in regularly with students to discuss progress

• If student is withdrawn or not attending, Truancy Project will conduct home visits

Clark County Truancy Project (cont’d)

• Staff have access to school and court databases to monitor and document youth’s progress.

• MAYSI 2 – The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument

Resources and Referrals may include:

oIndividual and Family Counseling

oDrug and alcohol assessments/treatment

oParenting classes/teen parenting programs

oCommunity social service agencies

oStudents may be referred to a Community Truancy Board

Clark County Truancy Board

• The Board members help create an attendance agreement aimed at improving student’s attendance.

• An agreement is created for both the parent and student

• The board provides families the opportunity to work with concerned community members in an effort to avoid a return to court

Court Intervention

• 50 youth on Active Intervention Orders – Formally ordered to attend school- Referred to Juvenile Court for Intervention

• Provide Intensive Case Management Services to Students and Families

• One Juvenile Court Probation Officer paired with mentors/interns

• Access to WARNS (Washington Assessment of Risks and Needs of Students) to assess needs and barriers

• Regularly review and staff cases with CCTP and School District Representative

• Bring students back to Court on Reviews and Contempt process, if needed.

Sustaining Reforms

• Ongoing training for truancy stakeholders on the philosophy, process and interventions

• Working within the JDAI initiative to provide alternative sanctions for Contempt process

• Pooling resources

Outcomes• 2011/2012 – Only 58 of the 576 truancy petitions

filed resulted in a formal intervention order compared to 252 out of 644 in 2008/2009.

• Truancy Project youth were significantly less likely to have further involvement with the juvenile justice system.

• In the first 2 years of the workshop, 95% of parents and 93% of youth found the workshop helpful.

www.statusoffensereform.org

Questions?

Contact Information:

Vidhya Ananthakrishnan: vananthakrishnan@vera.org

Jodi Martin: jodi.martin@clark.wa.gov

• Vera’s Status Offense Reform Center

@SOreformcenter