Score: +1 (1/0/0)
Ventura County Grand Jury • 2001-2002

Truancy Problems and Solutions in Ventura County

5 pages
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Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F9

Findings and Recommendations 14 findings

F1
A review of the public school districts in Ventura County shows an average attendance rate of approximately 95%, and the school districts have pro- grams to improve these fi gures.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
Charles Weis, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools, estimates that truancy costs Ventura County public schools between $25 million and $40 million a year in lost revenue because annual state education allocations are based on a district’s average daily attendance.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
A protocol attendance measurement for all County school districts should be utilized by the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools to assure there is an accurate way to standardize truancy rates and costs. (C-9)
F3
SARBs became operative in the state in 1975. It was the intent of the legislature that intensive guidance and coordinated community service be provided to meet the special needs of pupils with school attendance and/or behavior problems. The school district SARB consists of representa- tives from each school; police agencies, the Probation Agency, the Health Services Agency, the Parks and Recreation Department, Social Services and organizations in the community at large, such as Interface. The parent(s) and truant student are also required to attend. Failure to comply with the directives of SARB can result in additional steps being taken.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
STOP is a truancy program in the Oxnard area. This program is in con- junction with the U.S. Department of Justice “Weed and Seed” Program, the District Attorney’s Offi ce, Juvenile Probation, Oxnard School Districts and local non-profi t organizations. The police have the power to go to homes of students with at least four unexcused absences and cite them for truancy. In the fi rst year of operation, Oxnard police issued 2,747 cita- tions for truancy compared to 434 the previous school year. In the STOP program the parents are called, informed of the truancy and are required to pick up their child at the STOP Center and return him/her to school. STOP utilizes fi rm sanctions on truants. It holds parents accountable and has ongoing prevention programs in schools. STOP addresses underlying issues and provides counseling services and referrals.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
All law enforcement agencies have assigned offi cers to high schools, and some offi cers are also responsible to cover middle and elementary schools. Some police agencies also have Community Oriented Policy and Problem Solving (COPPS) and Sheriff’s Truancy Education Program (STEP). The city of Thousand Oaks had an excellent program in which every truant was cited and required to appear in court, but the program proved to be too costly and was discontinued.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The Ventura County Probation Agency Youth Services Unit is responsible for handling citations issued to minors for truancy throughout the County. The Probation Agency also handles minors cited for daytime curfew in Thousand Oaks and Fillmore. The agency also requires truants and their parents to attend a class on Teen Responsibilities (referred to by the Pro- bation Agency as “601 Class”). The program covers truancy, curfew and runaway laws, responsibilities and consequences, and requires the minor to perform eight hours of community service or contribute $25 to a charity of their choice.
No recommendations for this finding
F7
Many truant children have serious mental health problems that are not being addressed by their parents or the schools.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Parenting and counseling classes should be provided for parents of truant children and an accessible mental health system should be cre- ated to provide services to truant youth. (C-4, C-5)
F8
The County does not have the “teeth” to deal with habitual truants (those in contempt of § 601 court orders). For the court to order incarceration, the juvenile must have been given suffi cient notice to comply with the order and have understood its provisions, the violation of the court order must be egregious and less restrictive alternatives must have been considered and found to be ineffective. There also is a statutory provision barring intermin- gling with delinquent minors or criminal adults. F-.9 Los Angeles County Sheriff’s program, VIDA, is for at-risk youth. This is a 16-week all-day program on Saturdays staffed by Sheriff personnel and volunteers. It also includes Thursday evening counseling and learning ses- sions for the youth, counseling for parents, in-school checking and drug testing of all youth attending.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
The County must incarcerate § 601 contemnors in our Juvenile Justice Center when it opens in 2003 and there is room to separate the § 601s from the § 602s. (C-2)
R4
A “boot camp” type program like VIDA needs to be established countywide to reach at risk youth before incarceration becomes neces- sary. (C-7)
F10
Chronic truancy has been determined to be a symptom of deeper prob- lems within the family whether it is the juvenile who is skipping class and displaying anger or the parents who just cannot get life together enough to send their child to school.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The STOP Program, TRPP, THRIVE and SARBs should be supported and additional personnel, energy and resources should be devoted to the programs. (C-1)
F11
Truancy Habits Reduced Increases Vital Education (THRIVE) augments the STOP program and the Truancy Referral and Prosecution Program (TRPP). Existing social and preventative services are provided to the truant children and their family members through the SARB process and at the STOP site in Oxnard. Follow-up investigation and monitoring of habitual truants is conducted to ensure that attendance improves or that additional resources, including formal court action, are delivered. The District Attorney works with local police, probation offi cers, school offi cials, the Ventura County SARB, Interface, Palmer Drug Abuse Program, City Impact and those agen- cies which provide services to CalWORKs (the fi nancial aid agency).
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The STOP Program, TRPP, THRIVE and SARBs should be supported and additional personnel, energy and resources should be devoted to the programs. (C-1)
F12
The Probation Agency and District Attorney’s offi ce are working with SARBs and local police by instituting the TRPP, a get-tough approach to getting youth in school. This program was started in March 2000 and won a state- wide award for its effectiveness and creativity. Students and parents have been fi ned or sentenced to community service and some parents have been sent to parenting classes and ordered to volunteer at their child’s school.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The STOP Program, TRPP, THRIVE and SARBs should be supported and additional personnel, energy and resources should be devoted to the programs. (C-1)
F13
CalWORKs can cut parents’ benefi ts if their children do not regularly attend school.
No recommendations for this finding
F14
Poor attendance often develops in elementary schools and middle schools.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
Stringent standards of excellent attendance should be stressed and measured in elementary and middle schools. (C-6) Commendation All agencies mentioned in this report are to be commended for their con- cern about truancy and for the many excellent programs they offer. Responses Ventura County Superintendent of Schools (R-2, R-5, R-7) Ventura County Probation Agency (R-1, R-3, R-4, R-5) Ventura County Behavioral Health Department (R-3) Ventura County Sheriff (R-4) Police Departments of: (R-4) Oxnard Port Hueneme Santa Paula Simi Valley Ventura Ventura County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council (R-6) Ventura County Board of Supervisors (R-4)
F15
Multi-agency cooperation is very important, and the Juvenile Justice Coor- dinating Council (JJCC) has responsibility for setting juvenile policy and standards throughout Ventura County. The Presiding Juvenile Court Judge and the Probation Agency Director are co-chairs of this committee. The JJCC also includes the District Attorney, the Sheriff, the Public Defender, the Human Services Agency Director, the Director of Behavioral Health Department, a representative of City Impact, Ventura County Chief Execu- Final Report 2001-2002 Ventura County Grand Jury tive Offi cer, a representative of the Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, two members of the Board of Supervisors, Chief of the Oxnard Police Department, a member of the Public Health Services, an ACTION member, citizen representative of the Juvenile Justice/Delinquency Preven- tion Commission and the Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. Conclusions C-1. It is necessary to continue the SARB programs in individual school districts and countywide. STOP, THRIVE and TRRP are also effective programs which should be continued. (F-3, F-4 and F-11) C-2. It is necessary to ensure that students face fi rm sanctions for truancy. It is imperative that the County incarcerate status § 601 offenders who are in contempt of court when these youth can be separated from § 602s in the new Juvenile Justice Center in 2003. (F-8) C-3. There must be an accessible mental health system that will provide ser- vices to youth who have chronic mental health issues and control the misuse of narcotics and alcohol. Detoxifi cation and treatment programs must be available for youth with the need. (F-7) C-4. Anger management, education and training should be made more widely available with the possibility of negotiating with elementary, middle and high schools to add these programs to their course content. (F-7) C-5. Parenting/counseling sessions should be provided for parents unable to control the actions of their children due to lack of training, education or concern, thereby creating meaningful incentives for parental responsibility. (F-10) C-6. Strict attendance standards and programs must be enforced in grade schools and middle schools so high school students will obtain the basic education necessary to keep up and so that youth will learn responsibility at an early age. (F-14) C-7. VIDA is an excellent program and should be started in Ventura County to reach at-risk youth before they become § 602s. (F-9) C-8. JJCC has the responsibility for setting juvenile policy and standards throughout Ventura County. (F-15) C-9. Individual school districts have different methods of determining truancy. This makes it diffi cult to compare the individual district’s rates and costs of truancy. (F-1) Recommendations
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
Because interagency cooperation is necessary to combat truancy, the JJCC should be continued, and additional personnel, energy and resources would be helpful. (C-8)

Conclusions 1

Commendations 1

Agency Responses 5

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.

No Responses Found 8

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Oxnard City
Port Hueneme City
San Buenaventura City
Santa Paula City
Simi Valley City
Ventura County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office
Ventura County County Superintendent of Schools Elected County Office
Ventura County Sheriff Elected County Office