Innovation Brief: A Collaborative Approach to Truancy Reform
Published Dec 4, 2014, Center for Children & Youth Justice
Download
(167 KB)
High school dropout rates in Benton and Franklin Counties in Washington State are significantly higher than the national average. Truancy is a clear predictor of high school dropout. The establishment of a truancy workgroup, data analysis, and principal and counselor summits led to a multi-modal response in Benton and Franklin Counties focused on prevention, retention and retrieval of truant youth. This moved truancy interventions upstream with the goal of keeping youth out of the court system and in school, while also creating a strong re-engagement program for chronic truant and dropout youth.
