The Truancy subgroup of the Juvenile Justice Policy Oversight Committee (JJPOC) Diversion Workgroup was concerned about chronic abseentism and what parents are and aren’t signing off on at the beginning of the school year. Given the change in the Truancy laws and removing them from status offenses, there was conversation around what is happening with youth who are chronically absent and whether they are being referred to community-based services. In discussing the process of referring a child to a Youth Service Bureau (YSB) for community-based programs, they were concerned that if the parent hadn’t signed off on referrals, there was a significant delay in the child getting the support they needed.
The Hartford school system volunteered to pilot a potential sign-off form to be implemented for the 2022 – 2023 school year and receive feedback on the process to determine its success and expansion into other school districts. It was emphasized that for the project to be successful it must be in support from the top down to combat chronic absenteeism. It is critical that schools and districts provide parents and youth the correct information, and the handbooks schools give out are up to date. They felt that education and outreach is important to building a trust relationship and getting parents to understand why signing a referral form at the beginning of the year is paramount.
There was an idea to incorporate a QR code that people can scan, and watch a short informational video that can explain what a YSB is and what they do. The discussion led to updating the referral form and providing it in several languages and creating an explainer video, also in several languages. The Tow Youth Justice Institute was happy to assist the subgroup with the development of the video and referral forms.
Check out the video here.