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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 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: [email protected]
Jodi Martin: [email protected]
• Vera’s Status Offense Reform Center
@SOreformcenter
