Tackling Truancy

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What do you do when you learn that your child is late for school almost every day, or that he misses school two or three times a week?

Truancy is usually only one symptom of a larger pattern that is related to the child being out of the control of his or her caregiver in other areas as well. In a very young child, eight or nine years old, it can be a sign of neglect that may justify CPS investigation and even removal from the home. In an older child, it can be a sign of the minor being out of parental control.

Even conscientious parents can discover that their teens head off for school, but never get there. Under those circumstances, parents need the help of professionals to try to get the child on the right track.

Not all caregivers are conscientious. Many seem to have given up. For example, one CASA child, whom we'll call Melinda, knew her placement was in jeopardy if she did not go to school. At a six-month review, the commissioner was so concerned with her misconduct that he scheduled another hearing in six weeks for a progress report about school attendance. Melinda continued to be truant, so the school principal called the police. When the officer got to the home, at 11:00 a.m., he found Melinda's grandmother asleep on the sofa and the 14-year old upstairs in her room. Even when she was told that a policeman had come to take her to school, she refused to come out.

Most children do know, on some level, that they need to learn to read and write and that it is in their best interest to go to school. While they will rebel against rules, they also appreciate adults who are able to help them do what they should. For example, a girl we'll call Suzi refused to go to school until she was placed in Edgewood Children's Center for a period of evaluation and simultaneously sent to a new school, because she had not attended her former school for the past year. Although she continued to say that she was unhappy, her CASA and everyone else who knew her (except her mother) thought that she looked relieved. Her truancy may have been related in large part to a stressful home situation.

If you are wondering what to do to help your child to get an education, talk to his or her social worker. Don't be discouraged if you hear, "We don't have time to worry about little things like that!" Truancy may seem a small problem next to child abuse or delinquency, but it is often a first step on the road to failure. You don't have 60 kids to worry about; you just have one. See if you can come up with a strategy for making sure your CASA child gets to school.

What are some of the steps you can take? Here are just a few possibilities:

• Show an interest in you child's school work.
  
  
• Talk with the caregiver about homework, report cards, and attendance.
  
  
• Visit the teacher and look at your child's school records.
  
  
• Develop a reward structure to use when the child does well.
  
  
• Discuss the appropriateness of your child's school placement with the social worker, the attorney, and your CASA case supervisor.
  
  
• Advocate for a tutor.
  
  
• Have reality-based discussions of the future with your child.

Some CASAs have gone to extreme measures to get their children to school. Tally George picked up her boy at home in the morning and dropped him off at school on her way to work until she could get the family into mediation and help them take more responsibility for his attendance. Ian Paget has the school mail the weekly progress report to the CASA office so that he can keep track of attendance and behavior and reward the boy when he is doing well. Several volunteers have called Abigail Trillin at Legal Services for Children for advice about how to advocate for a child in the San Francisco school district. Many of you attend IEP meetings, or help your child register for GED classes, or investigate college opportunities.

Melinda's case may seem extreme, but truancy is a serious matter. The police did not hesitate to respond to the principal's request for an officer to go to the home. The police officer, like you, can think about truancy one child at a time.

If you are thinking about what to do for your child, remember to choose strategies that are appropriate to your Case Plan. If you are still focused on the goal of establishing a trusting relationship with your minor, don't alienate him by pushing too hard too soon. Be clear about your goals, and then take careful steps to achieve them. If you feel unsure of your goals, call your case supervisor for help clarifying them.

—Libby Colman, Ph.D.