Evaluation of a truancy court intervention in four middle schools

Abstract

The effectiveness of a school-based truancy court intervention in four middle schools in a midsized school district was evaluated. Cumulative data from 185 youth attending a truancy court from 2004 through 2008 were included in the analyses. Results indicated a differential impact of the truancy court intervention depending on truancy severity at baseline. The intervention was most successful in increasing attendance for students with severe truancy, but had limited impact on students with moderate truancy, and no impact on mild truancy. The intervention did not result in improved school attachment or grade point averages, nor did it signiÞcantly reduce discipline offenses. Furthermore, the aftercare intervention, consisting of regular meetings with an authority Þgure (e.g., a juvenile ofÞcer), was only effective at maintaining truancy court attendance gains for students with severe truancy at baseline, although it was associated with a substantial decrease in discipline offenses for all groups. These results suggest that truancy courts similar to the one described here may have an impact on truancy for severely truant students, but may have a limited effect on students with mild or moderate truancy. C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Alternatives to Suspending African American High School Males

“…The participants strive to (a) decrease suspensions and increase retention and graduate rates (Weber, 2010;Wagner & Antonis, 2010), (b) provide a learning environment that supports academic achievement (Rosas & West, 2009), (c) manage disruptive (Graham & Prigmore, 2009;Harrell & Hollins, 2009), (d) refer students to that could help African American males improve their perceptions about schooling (Lee et al, 2011;Morgan, 2010;Skiba et al, 2012). The findings revealed that school programs should be designed for African American male students to be motivated to recover credits (Daniel & Bondy, 2008;Hendricks, Sale, Evans, McKinley, & DeLozier-Carter, 2010;Martinez, 2009).…”

Evaluation of a Truancy Diversion Program at Nine at-Risk Middle Schools

“…Conversely, Hendricks, Sale, Evans, McKinley, and DeLozier Carter () found that youth problem behaviors did not decline following a truancy court program. The authors postulated that the lack of a school attachment component in the truancy court program might have contributed to the lack of improvement in problem behaviors.…”

Knocking on the Door: Juvenile and Family Courts as a Forum for Facilitating School Attendance and Decreasing Truancy

“…Increasingly, courts are partnering with schools to implement school‐based truancy interventions such as truancy courts. In some instances, judges implement less official truancy hearings and other programs in the courts (Byer & Kuhn, as cited in Hendricks, Sale, Evans, McKinley, & Carter, 2010). In other circumstances, school personnel solicit judges and masters to preside over informal truancy hearings in the schools (Kliebert et al., 2006; Stone & Breon, 2007).…”

“…Courts may also collaborate with social workers and other service providers to obtain individual and family assessments, and to receive feedback on student and parent status in securing and cooperating with recommended services (Hendricks et al., 2010; Kliebert et al., 2006). These liaisons are particularly important in truancy cases, given that substance abuse has been associated with school absenteeism, and treatment may be warranted (Henry & Thornberry, 2010; Henry, Thornberry, & Huizinga, 2009).…”

“…Increasingly, courts are moving away from punitive sanctions, and instead, electing “less restrictive” methods (Shubik & Kendall, 2007). Toward this end, courts are linking families to needed services that for some individuals may not be readily available (Hendricks et al., 2010; Stone & Breon, 2007). Once services are in place, juvenile courts more closely monitor student and parent progress (Hendricks et al., 2010; Spencer & Breon, 2006; Spinak, 2008).…”