NCJ Number
181884
Date Published
1999
Length
186 pages
Annotation
This report presents the methodology and findings of an evaluation of the program Abolish Chronic Truancy (ACT), a Pima County (Arizona) comprehensive diversion program to get truant youth back into school by providing needed services and holding their parents or legal guardians accountable for their children's school attendance.
Abstract
ACT now consists of three key elements. One element is the enforcement of a mandatory State school attendance law by holding parents accountable for ensuring that their children attend school. A second element is a diversion program that offers services to youth and their parents to address the root causes of the truancy. The third element involves sanctions for parents and youth for continued truancy or for those who fail to successfully complete the diversion program. The evaluation found that the ACT Now Program has developed into a community-wide "institutionalized" response to truancy. The program is viewed by the schools, law enforcement, the Pima County Attorney's Office, service providers, and the local media as an integral part of the community's efforts to address truancy and associated problems that put youth at high risk for serious delinquent involvement. In all of the school districts in the sample, there has been a decrease in the number of reported truancies since the full implementation of the program in the 1996-97 school year. Similarly, there have been decreases in the number of school dropouts in two districts. This report identifies and discusses the factors found to be associated with the successful implementation of the program. Two shortcomings were observed in the program's implementation. First, there is not adequate feedback to the schools regarding the youth they refer to the program. Second, the program lacks a comprehensive database to track referrals, services, and recidivism. Extensive exhibits, 33 references, and appended supplementary materials and data-collection instruments