Literacy, Truancy and Family Courts

Through its participation in the development and implementation of family courts, the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Substance Abuse has come to understand that families that become involved in our justice system have myriad, and often complex, service needs. These needs require interventions to stabilize immediate crises and to provide services that prevent similar future behaviors and potential harms, which affect successive generations within the family.

Due to our familiarity with these issues, the Standing Committee was awarded a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation to assist local courts in reviewing the need for, and then developing, truancy prevention and literacy service programs. The "Literacy, Truancy and Family Courts" initiative works with local courts to establish truancy/literacy programs that target elementary and middle school children at risk for substance abuse. The first phase of this initiative was based on the Louisville, Kentucky truancy court project, which addresses low-level truancy among middle school students, monitors their progress and works with social service agencies to address the needs and problems of the child and family.

The second phase adopts another model, based on a truancy court in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Cincinnati model, based on a therapeutic approach similar to Louisville's, provides for greater involvement of community social services providers and agencies with truant children and their families. The Cincinnati program is based on the premise that truancy is not a problem of the child, but of the caretaker or family.

The Standing Committee has assisted courts in several jurisdictions with establishing truancy/literacy programs, including: Phoenix, Arizona; Baltimore, Maryland; Kansas City, Missouri; and Burke, Caldwell and Catawba Counties in North Carolina.

In addition, in further partnership with Scripps Howard, the Standing Committee has annually presented the Distinguished Service to Literacy Award. The award honors an outstanding program, bar association, or lawyer for exceptional efforts in addressing literacy, truancy, and substance abuse in his community. The 2004 award was presented on February 23, 2005 to The Honorable Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, Jr., Chief Judge, Rhode Island Family Court. As the award recipient, Chief Judge Jeremiah awarded a grant to the literacy organization of his choice, Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education (RISE). Kristen Moran serves as the Executive Director of RISE.

A brochure entitled "Truancy, Literacy and the Courts" may be viewed via the link: http://www.abanet.org/subabuse/truancy_brochure.pdf.

Judge David W. Young, recipient of the 2006 Scripps Howard/ABA Standing Committee on
Substance Abuse Distinguished Service to Literacy Award. To view remarks by Judge Young, click here.

The Honorable Frank Williams, Chief Justice, Rhode Island Supreme Court; The Honorable Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, Jr., Chief Judge,
Rhode Island Family Court (recipient of the 2004 Scripps Howard Foundation – American Bar Association Distinguished Service
to Literacy Award); Barbara Howard, Esq., Chair, ABA’s Standing Committee on Substance Abuse. To view photo gallery, click here.