Reducing Truancy Throughout The County - a Prudent Investment

R1

That each secondary school district be responsible for establishing and operating its own truancy reduction program that conforms to the legal requirements of the State of California's Education Code by the beginning of the 2012-13 school year. Response: The Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office agrees that an essential component of the new Santa Barbara County Truancy Program is that each school district must be responsible for establishing and operating its own truancy reduction program that complies with all state legal requirements. It is hoped that each district will collaborate with other districts to obtain efficiencies by working together to avoid costly and unnecessary redundancy. The District Attorney's Office will provide ongoing guidance and assistance to schools in establishing these new programs through a new Truancy Deputy District Attorney so that each district's program CIA'npoTtsH'it.~both tbe letter am1 SpL.'itof the tru&'1Cj'stsiutas.

R2

That the Office of the District Attorney request and that the Board of Supervisors approve the appropriate amount in the Office of the District Attorney's budget to support its participation in truancy reduction programs. Response: The Santa Barbara District Attorney has requested and obtained funding from the Board of Supervisors for one full time Deputy District Attorney I position and one half-time legal office professional along with travel expenses for the fiscal year 2012-13. These new resources will allow us to participate in a county-wide truancy reduction program.

R3

That the Office of the District Attorney assign staff to support the truancy reduction program. Response: The Santa Barbara District Attorney will assign one full-time prosecutor and one . half-time legal office professional to work exclusively on truancy reduction programs. In·~ addition, the District Attorney will supplement these resources with administrative assistance, infrastructure expenses, training and volunteer assistance as available.

R4

That all secondary school districts document their efforts to address truancy in a manner that can be used by the Office of the District Attorney, if and when legal proceedings are initiated. Response: An essential element to the prosecution of any truancy case is documentation of the schools conscientious efforts to obviate the cause of truancy before resorting to legal action. The District Attorney will work with schools to establish reliable procedures to document every effort the school districts make to reduce truancy in individual cases. OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA (/ B~o·-7E ~gUDLilir~"" ~ DI~I.UCT ATTORNEY