When Children are not in School: Effective Court Interventions

Angela Ciolfi, J.D., Legal Director

JustChildren

 

 Andrew Block, J.D., Director

Child Advocacy Clinic University of Virginia School of Law

Patrick Tolan, Ph.D., Director

Youth-Nex | The UVA Center for Effective Youth Development

University of Virginia

Special thanks to Maryfrances Porter, Ph.D., Associate Director for Program Evaluation and Community Consultation at Youth-Nex for her work in developing this presentation.

GoalsTo provide judges with the tools to

incorporate and apply the most current research on child and adolescent development and positive youth development

identify critical stages of truancy cases

To summarize

applicable developmental and family issues in truancy,

what schools could and should do prior to filing CHINS,

what questions to ask multidisciplinary teams,

effective home- and school-based interventions, and

new and creative court-based interventions aimed at reducing truancy.

  

Introduction

We lack adequate evaluation of court-based efforts to affect truancy to authoritatively guide action.

Have Three Tools

1. Collective Judicial Wisdom

2. Legal Opportunities

3. Best Evidence from Accumulated Pertinent Development and Clinical Science

Juvenile Court Judges in Virginia:What You Say is Working for You

• Involving school administrators

• Dedicated truancy dockets or truancy courts

• Summoning school officials when child’s school needs are not being met

• Stable School Placement Orders

• Appointing GALs and/or other representation for the child

• School-specific Truancy Review Teams where parents and children are able to address barriers to school attendance

• Outreach detention

• Immediate sanctions (electronic monitoring, supervised release, youth shelter, suspended detention time, etc.)

• Fast tracked adjudication

• Judicial advocacy for non-court handling of truancy cases – all diversion

• 30-day review dates with a written order outlining the child’s and parent’s responsibilities

• Quarterly truancy committee meetings to coordinate multi-system approach to truancy

What You Say is Working for You, cont.

Legal Issues and Critical Decisions in the Pre-adjudication Phase

When does a child actually meet the definition of child in need of supervision?

The critical question of “Are the child’s educational needs being met by the schools?”

Pre-adjudication Phase, cont.Four necessary requirements,§16.1-228:

1. A child who, while subject to compulsory school attendance, is habitually and without justification absent from school, and

2. the child has been offered an adequate opportunity to receive the benefit of any and all educational services and programs that are required to be provided by law and which meet the child's particular educational needs,  

3. the school system from which the child is absent or other appropriate agency has made a reasonable effort to effect the child's regular attendance without success, and

4. the school system has provided documentation that it has complied with the provisions of §22.1-258.

What is an adequate opportunity to receive educational benefit?

What is a reasonable effort to effect attendance?

Pre-adjudication Phase, cont.

When and should the court proceed against a parent instead of, or in addition to, the child?

• §18.2-371 (willfully causing child to be truant)

• §22.1-262 (failing to enroll, or comply with attendance plan)

But remember Proceeding against a parent has limited effectiveness Truancy can be due to many reasons usually requiring a

multi-systemic solution, with parents as central to solution

Pre-adjudication Phase, cont.

Legal Issues and Critical Decisions in the Post-adjudication Phase

“…the court shall, before final disposition of the case, direct the appropriate public agency to evaluate the child's

service needs using an interdisciplinary team approach.” §16.1-278.5(A)

What kind of evaluation and information is needed from the multi-disciplinary team to ensure that all necessary

evidence and data are available for disposition?

The assessment focus should be:

• Identification of youth and family strengths, resources, motivations, goals

• Educational history: Achievement level, skills, motivation, attendance pattern

• Description of “root cause(s)” of truancy or what must change to stop the truancy

• Mental health screening for major issues including need for full evaluation

• Family and home assessment

Post-adjudication Phase, cont.

The assessment should also provide a set of specific recommendations to:

o Provide educational opportunity, o Remove or overcome impediments, ando Set clear expectations and accountability standards for youth,

family, school, and service agencies.

Thorough coordinated across system recommendations:

o Academic accommodations and relationship supports

o Individualized incentives and consequences for parents and youth

o Treatment and services

o Supervised Activities and support for attendance

Post-adjudication Phase, cont.

“Root causes” of truancy:

• Learning Problems/Achievement Failure

• Family factors

• School factors

• Economic factors

• Student factors- Social, educational, psychopathology

Post-adjudication Phase, cont.

Legal Issues and Critical Decisions in the Disposition Phase

Given the information received from the multi-disciplinary team, what kinds of “dispositions” are most likely to be

effective?

What are the best combination of “dispositions” for the child, for the parent(s), for the school, for service

providers?

Disposition Phase, cont.

The court may make any of the following orders:

1. Enter any order of disposition authorized by §16.1-278.4 for a child found to be in need of services (includes 16.1-278 orders);

2. place the child on probation under such conditions and limitations as the court may prescribe … for those purposes set forth in subsection E of §18.2-271.1;

3. order the child and/or his parent to participate in such programs, cooperate in such treatment or be subject to such conditions and limitations as the court may order and as are designed for the rehabilitation of the child;

4. require the child to participate in a public service project under such conditions as the court may prescribe §16.1-278.5(B).

The Thunderbolt Provision (16.1-278)

• Broad authority to “make use of the services” of child-serving public and private agencies in order that the court may give children and families “such care, protection and assistance as will best enhance their welfare.”

• The judge may order state and local governmental agencies and officers “to render only such information, assistance, services and cooperation as may be provided for by state or federal law . . .”

• §22.1-258 requires the local school system to “develop a plan to resolve the pupil's nonattendance.”

Court orders should focus on:

• Dispositions addressing the key solutions to truancy identified in the assessment

• Specific orders for the youth

• Specific orders for the parent

• Specific orders for the school

(authorized under §16.1-278)

Disposition Phase, cont.

Sample orders for the child/parents:

• Contract between parents and youth based on goals set in cooperation with school and informed by motivation and needs of youth

• Incentives and consequences for youth tied to school attendance (at home and school)

• Incentives and consequences for parents for working with school and follow-through

• Strength-based individual/family therapy with a goal to increase attendance- specific treatment plan and time estimates

• Interventions/treatment for parents for personal impediments or to improve monitoring and other parenting

• Monitoring and social interventions at school, connecting parents to school

Disposition Phase, cont.

Sample orders for the school:

• Academic plan based on needs and student/family goals with benchmarks for improvement and actual exposure

• Additional testing and interventions as necessary and required by law to ascertain needs and capabilities and monitor progress.

• Engagement with parents and student in contract based on parent goals, clear benchmarks, regular frequent check-ins

• Regular and positively engaging face-to-face communication with parents

Disposition Phase, cont.

§16.1- 291 and §16.1-292

authorize judicial response to violation of ChinSup orders

Legal Issues and Critical Decisions for Violations of Court Orders

When, if ever, is it appropriate to consider graduated sanctions such as detention of the child or removal from the

family?

If graduated sanctions are not likely to be effective, how are courts to balance the need to maintain adherence to court

orders with best practices for reducing truancy?

What are more productive alternatives to detention or foster care placement?

Violations of Court Orders, cont.

Violations of Court Orders, cont.

Evidence suggests that severely truant youth most benefited from school-based court interventions.

Truancy courts leverage the power of the court to convene, coordinate, and oversee the delivery of services that are identified as needed/likely to be effective for the truant youth, and often for the family as well.

Organizing Focus on Truancy

• Collaborative atmosphere that emphasizes opportunity/support and scaffolding expectations over punishment/”settling disposition”

• A goal-based approach

• Engage and involve parents at the beginning of the process

• Combination of rewards and consequences for behavior

• Ensure that the school provides and sustains adequate opportunity/support to attend, learn

Specifics of Truancy Court Organization

Conclusions

Create a truancy docket/court within the juvenile or family court so that all truancy cases are heard on the same day; consider holding court at schools

Every youth should have an advocate

Can convene, coordinate, create expectations for multi-system response

Obtain a good assessment but define that for those assessing

Tie dispositions to information in the assessment – act early and remain in monitoring role

Many of the best interventions take place in school; courts have the authority to order schools to take specific actions to address truancy

Many of the critical components are learning related and family-school relationship related. Create goal informed plan requiring this relationships

Truancy court judges should have flexibility in sentencing options: fit it to the case need

Use both rewards and consequences in dealing with children and parents

Conclusions, cont.

Evidence-Based Programs for Truancy Prevention/Intervention

National Center for School (January 2007). Blueprints for Violence Prevention Programs That Reduce Truancy and/or

Improve School Attendance, on-line at: www.schoolengagement.org

 

Blueprints for Violence Prevention Programs: http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,

Model Programs Guide

Truancy Prevention

http://www.ojjdp.gov/mpg/progTypesTruancy.aspx

Five Approaches with Some Evidence

1.Those that provide support for and promote attendance/ learning motivation

2.Those that keep kids safe, engaged, and wanted

3.Those that provide specific form for contract, measuring, and rewarding attendance, achievement

4.Those that provide legal attention and consequences for noncompliance

5.Those that engage youth in solving their problem

• Ada County Attendance Court

• BBBS Community-Based Mentoring

• BBBS School-Based Mentoring

• Behavioral Monitoring and Reinforcement Program (formerly Preventive Intervention)

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA)

• Boys and Girls Clubs of America (BGCA)

• Career Academy

• Chronic Truancy Initiative

• Comer School Development Program

• Girl Power!

• HCZ – Promise Academy Charter Middle School

• Independence Youth Court

Evidence-Based Programs That Might Help with Truancy

• Job Corps Positive Action

• LA’s BEST

• Operation New Hope

• Operation SAVE KIDS

• Police Led Truancy Intervention

• Positive Action through Holistic Education (Project PATHE)

• Reconnecting Youth

• School Breakfast Clubs

• School Transitional Environment Program (STEP)

• Social Decision Making/Problem Solving Program

• Student Transition and Recovery Program (STAR)

• Taking Charge Program

• Truant Recovery Program

• Wraparound Services Model – Columbus, Ohio

Evidence-Based Programs, cont.