Criminal Justice Section offers information on model truancy intervention programs, tips on representing delinquent children with disabilities

Susan Gaertner

The Ramsey County (Minn.) truancy intervention program, special education and disability rights, and zero tolerance were all part of the discussion during a recent continuing legal education program sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section Juvenile Justice Committee, moderated by ABA President Karen J. Mathis.

Kenneth Seeley

The first step of the Truancy Intervention Program she established in Ramsey County, said County Attorney Susan Gaertner, is a large group meeting that includes the truant child, the child's parents, and an assistant county attorney. During this meeting, which occurs after a student has three or more unexcused absences, the county attorney outlines social and legal consequences of truancy. The second meeting involves what is called a "School Attendance Review Team." At this time, a social services representative attends the meeting, along with county attorney personnel and a probation officer, as well as school personnel and the child and his or her parents. During this meeting, explained Gaertner, an attendance contract is drawn up that sets goals for the truant child and may include a referral to a community-based program. The third step of the program involves the juvenile court system.

Nearly 28,000 students have been served by the Truancy Intervention Program since its implementation in 1995, resulting in improved attendance figures and high school graduation rates.

Robert Schwartz

Kenneth Seeley, president and chief executive officer of the National Center for School Engagement in Denver, outlined "The Problem, The Solutions for Policies, Practices and Partnerships" relating to truancy, dropouts and delinquency. Seeley said programs need to be about more than "just getting children back in their seats." In addition to attendance, children have to have a sense of attachment. They need to know they "count in someone else's lives in school," said Seeley. "Achievement" is also an important part of the solution triangle as the growth helps to spur the student.

Joseph Tulman

Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, spoke about zero tolerance and education as a component of reentry and aftercare. "The bottom line," Schwartz said, "is that we don't want the kids back on the streets." And Joseph Tulman, professor at the University of the District of Columbia – The David A. Clarke School of Law, outlined the relationship between disability and delinquency.

Barbara Flicker

Barbara Flicker, a Los Angeles-based legal consultant, said that truancy provides the opportunity to find out about problems and courts. We need to resolve the causative issues in order to keep children in school, said Flicker.

The ABA's online media kit for the Annual Meeting includes a complete audio podcast of the program. Additional podcasts from the Annual Meeting can be downloaded here.

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