Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

1
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention

• Effective Tribal Truancy Prevention Strategies

2
Opening in a good way
3
Vision

• Vision is not analytic it is intuitive.
• It is knowing in your bones what can or must be
  done.
• Vision isnt forecasting it is creating the
  future by taking action in the present

4
Truancy and School Dropouts

• Student
• non-attendance is a problem that extends much
  further than the school. It affects the student,
  the family, and the community.

5
Facts

• 80 of dropouts were chronically truant before
  dropping out.
• 90 of youth in detention for delinquent acts
  were chronically truant.
• Truancy is one of the early warning signs that a
  student is headed for a variety of problems.
• A nation-wide study found that 75 of truant
  middle and high school students failed to
  graduate.

6
Please Type into the Chat

• What truancy-related challenges are you facing in
  your community?

7
Graduation among Native Youth

• 82 of AI/AN students graduate from high school
  (cf. 90 of students in the general population).
• 65 of AI/AN high school students complete
  freshman year (cf. 76 of all students in the
  general population).

8
Reading Skills

• 81 of AI/AN 8th graders read below grade level
  (cf. 62 of Caucasian 8th graders).
• 74 of AI/AN 12th graders read below grade level
  (cf. 57 of Caucasian 12th graders).

9

• Check all truancy reduction activities you are
  currently engaged in.

• Truancy code development
• Truancy prevention plan
• Early warning system
• Mentoring
• Positive physical, social, and/or cultural
  activities
• None of the above

10
Reasons for Truancy

• In broad terms, the reasons
• for youth truancy can be understood from four
  perspectives personal, family,
• school, and community.

http//www.aidainc.net/monograph.pdf
11
Student Factors for Truancy

• Lack of personal and educational ambition
• Poor academic performance
• Retention / overage for grade
• Poor relationships with other students
• Gang involvement
• Unmet mental health needs
• Alcohol and drug abuse

12
Family and Community Factors

• Negative peer influences
• External pressure to stay home to help with
  family
• Child abuse and neglect
• Family disorganization
• Teen pregnancy or parenthood
• Lack of family support
• Violence
• Differing culturally-based attitudes toward
  education

13
School Factors for Truancy

• Inconsistent and ineffective school attendance
  policies
• Poor record keeping
• Unsafe school environment
• Poor relations with teachers
• Inadequate identification of special education
  needs

14
Cultural Conflict

• Cultural disconnect between average public school
  and AI/AN communities that it serves is partially
  to blame for the gap between AI/AN and Caucasian
  students academic achievement.
• Civil rights and cultural identities of AI/AN
  students are often not supported in the classroom.

15
Truancy and Bullying

• An OJJDP study found that if bullying results in
  the victim becoming less engaged in school, then
  the victim is more likely to cease attending
  school and trying to achieve.
• (Seeley, Tombari, Bennett Dunkle, 2011). 

16
Consequences of Bullying

1. Truancy
2. School shootings
3. Low self-esteem
4. Depression, loneliness, anxiety
5. Suicidal thoughts

17
Please type into the chat

• What types of school engagement strategies are
  currently being employed in your community?

18
Effective Program Strategies

• Collaboration creating a broad-based
  multidisciplinary partnership
• True family involvement active parent engagement
• A comprehensive approach 

19
Effective Strategies

• Effective programs meaningful consequences for
  truancy and meaningful incentives for attendance
• A supportive context 
• Rigorous evaluation and ongoing assessment

20
Guiding Principles for Working with Youth

1. Help youth develop a meaningful relationship with
   a significant adult
2. Expose youth to a healthy lifestyle
3. Develop job skills
4. Participate in positive physical, cultural and
   social activities
5. Provide the opportunity to give back to the
   community through community service

21
Restorative Practices

• Restorative Practices such as Talking Circles and
  
• Family Group Decision Making Conferences
• (FGDMC) are proving successful in Indian
• Country, as these practices
• are asset-based.
  
• involve the family.
• empower the youth and family.
• are culturally responsive.
• include shared responsibility to solving the
  issues at hand.

22

• What partnerships do you currently have that are
  focused on reducing truancy?

• Schools
• Law Enforcement
• Social Services
• Mental Health Agencies
• Community-based Organizations
• None of the above

23
Building effective partnerships
24
WHO ARE YOUR PARTNERS?
25
Strategies for Engaging Law Enforcement (an
example)

• Up to 68 of daytime crime has been reduced
  through effective intervention and identification
  of truant youth.
• Get buy-in from the Chief/Captain of Police
• Focus on what CAN be done
• Recognize that police work is not an isolated
  activity community members must share
  responsibility for solving community problems
  like truancy
• Approach younger officers who may be willing to
  donate some time to project activities

26
Key Practices

• Focus on building trusting collaborative
  relationships
• Recognize, respect, and address families needs
  as well as cultural differences
• Embrace a philosophy of partnership
• Be strength-based
• Embrace a mindset of what CAN we do? versus
  what we CANT do

27
Sample Options for Connecting and Engaging Youth
in Schools and Communities

• Tutoring
• Meaningful community service
• Clubs and extracurricular activities

28
Promising Approaches to truancy prevention in
Indian country
29
Seneca Nation of New York

• "Growing Good Minds youth group
• Grandparents Club
• Community members teaching each other how to make
  rattles, drums, and other cultural arts

30
Seneca Nation Summary

• Community involvement
• Youth participation in field trips and
  volunteering activities
• Prevention Specialist works closely with school

31
Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians -
California

• Truancy program
• The County Student Attendance Review Board (SARB)
  process codified and being refined
• Developing Education Code for Tribe, including
  jurisdiction over truant tribal member youth

32
Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe Boys and Girls Club -
Wisconsin

• Truancy Prevention Project 
• 72 reduction of chronic truancy for Native
  students population in past 3 years 
• Empowering students to "tell their story" and
  providing them with new self-empowerment tools 

33
DISCUSSION
34
Additional Resources

• National Center for School Engagement
• www.schoolengagement.org
•  
• Center for Delinquency Prevention and Youth
  Development
• www.delinquencyprevention.org
•  
• National Dropout Prevention Centers
• www.dropoutprevention.org

35
EDC Tribal Youth Training Technical
Assistance Center serving OJJDP Tribal Youth
Programs

• www.tribalyouthprogram.org

36
closing