Prevention Briefs
Prevention Briefs are concise summaries of information on issues and key resources created by NCMHPVYP staff.
Truancy Reduction
Web sites and Organizations
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, US Department of Justice
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Web site offers several useful truancy prevention resources, including the following:
- Truancy Prevention: Empowering Communities and Schools to Help Students Succeed (http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/truancy/index.html). This Web site includes information on truancy and truancy prevention, including fact sheets, publications, case studies of best practices in truancy prevention, and video and audio presentations from several truancy prevention events.
- Toolkit for Creating Your Own Truancy Reduction Program (http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/publications/truancy_toolkit.html). This publication consists of an introduction and four chapters: “An Overview of Truancy,” “Truancy Programs,” “Promoting Social Engagement,” and “Quick and Easy References.” It can be downloaded in pdf format at no cost.
National Center for School Engagement (http://www.schoolengagement.org/index.cfm/Welcome). The National Center for School Engagement (NCSE) provides training and technical assistance and generates research and evaluation studies on school attendance, school attachment, and academic achievement. NCSE is located at the Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. The NCSE Web site includes many valuable resources on truancy reduction, including the following:
- Web-based Professional Development Project (WBPD): WBPD is an online educational forum concerned with school districts serving large numbers of homeless or highly mobile students.
- Truancy Reduction Application Interface (TRAIN): TRAIN is a Web-based database for tracking students receiving attendance services. Among the items tracked is information on school attachment, achievement, attendance, demographics, mental and physical health, family and peer relationships, and service history. This system is available for a monthly fee.
- Truancy Program Registry: This comprehensive database of truancy reduction programs contains a wealth of information about each program, including the demographics of the population served, program focus, interventions and activities, evaluation results (if any), funding, and what works (and what is not working). The registry is a valuable resource for programs that may be looking for peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
- Publications: The NCSE Web site includes a large number of valuable publications on truancy and truancy prevention that can be downloaded at no cost. These include publications on designing and implementing truancy reduction programs; case studies, research reports, and evaluation studies of specific truancy reduction programs; and research reports on truancy, truancy prevention, and the cost-benefits of truancy prevention.
Especially valuable NCSE publications include the following:
- Pieces of the Truancy Jigsaw: A Literature Review
- Legal and Economic Implications of Truancy
- Best Practices and Model Truancy Prevention Programs
- The Costs and Benefits of Three Intensive Interventions with Colorado Truants
- Planning, Collaboration, and Implementation Strategies for Truancy Programs
- Alternatives to Juvenile Detention: Effective Strategies for Working with Truant Youth
- Truancy Case Management Handbook: Advice from the Field
- School Attendance Tracking: Challenges and Effective Practices
- Guidelines for Evaluating Truancy Prevention Programs
National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (http://www.dropoutprevention.org/ndpcdefault.htm) The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network (NDPC/N) is a research center and network for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers who want to reshape school and community environments to meet the needs of at-risk youth so they receive the education and services necessary to succeed academically and graduate from high school. The NDPC/N Web site includes a guide to 15 strategies that influence the drop-out rate. The guide to each strategy includes an overview, resources, and model programs. An online resource library included e-newsletters, articles, and research reports.
Especially valuable NDPC/N publications include the following:
- Fifteen Effective Strategies for Improving Student Attendance and Truancy Prevention, Jay Smink and Mary Reimer
State Truancy Laws
The Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute (http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/state_statutes.html) contains a searchable index of state education laws (including their truancy provisions).
Other Publications Available Online
Addressing Truancy in Youth Court Programs, Ramona Gonzales and Tracy Godwin Mullins. In Selected Topics on Youth Courts: A Monograph, Tracy Godwin Mullins (Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2004). (http://www.youthcourt.net/publications/monograph.pdf )
This chapter explores the advantages and the challenges of using youth courts to address truancy. It also provides some background information on truancy and truancy reduction strategies, advice on using youth courts as a truancy reduction strategy, and case studies of such efforts.
Increasing Student Attendance: Strategies from Research and Practice, Jennifer Railsback (Portland, Ore.: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, 2004). (http://www.nwrel.org/request/2004june/Attendance.pdf )
This publication is an excellent introduction to the subject, including information on why students do not attend school, strategies to encourage attendance, and descriptions of model programs.
New Approaches to Truancy in Urban Schools, Charles Walls (New York: ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, 2003). (http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/
0000000b/80/2a/3a/5e.pdf)
This publication provides a discussion of truancy and truancy reduction interventions with a focus on urban and minority communities.
Saving Money, Saving Youth: The Financial Impact of Keeping Kids in School (Third Edition)) Joanna Zorn Heilbrunn and Ken Seeley. Denver, Colo.: Colorado Foundation for Families and Children. (http://www.coloradofoundation.org/pdf/donner-finalreport.pdf)
This is an interesting cost-benefit analysis of truancy reduction focusing on three Colorado programs. Produced in conjunction with the National Center for School Engagement.
Student Truancy, Jay DeKalb (Eugene, Ore.: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, 1999). (http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/
0000000b/80/2a/2d/62.pdf)
This publication gives an overview of the causes of truancy, effective truancy policies, and other attendance interventions.
Youth Out of School: Linking Absence to Delinquency (Second Edition),
Ramona Gonzales, Kinette Richards, and Kim Seeley (Denver, Colo.: Colorado Foundation for Children and Families, 2002). (http://www.schoolengagement.org/TruancypreventionRegistry/
Admin/Resources/Resources/26.pdf)
This publication explores the relationship between truancy and delinquency and looks at interventions to reduce truancy. It also reports on a number of demonstration projects designed to reduce truancy and prevent delinquency.
