House Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #479

Truancy Interdiction Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Requester:

Daniel J. D'Alesio, Jr.

Organization:

City of Jacksonville (Dept. of Community Services)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Title:

Truancy Interdiction Program

Date Submitted:

01/24/2000 10:04:25 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

District Member:

Stephen Wise

Service Area:

Regional

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Counties Affected:

Duval

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recipient:

City of Jacksonville (Dept. of Community Services)

Contact:

Daniel J. D'

 

117 W. Duval St., Suite 215

Contact Phone:

(904) 630-6452

 

 

Jacksonville 32202

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Description:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I.  TRUANCY INTERDICTION PROGRAM PROPOSAL:  Funding support for the expansion of the City of Jacksonville, Truancy Interdiction Program (TIP) as indicated below.

 

A-  Funding support for staff, equipment, and supplies for the operation of two Truancy Centers on the Southside (current site) and Northside (proposed additional site) of Jacksonville.  These Truancy Centers will provide effective intervention for both habitual truants (as defined by law), and for other children who are beginning to engage in truancy behavior.

B-Funding support for the placement of a master's level counselor at each Truancy Center for immediate crisis intervention, counseling, and referrals of truants and parents.  These services will benefit not only habitual truants, but will also fill a gap for children who are beginning to engage in truant behavior, but do not meet the statutory criteria necessitating referral to Absentee Intervention Teams (child Study Teams).  A funded case manager will follow up with these children and their families.

C-The Duval County Public Schools will continue to provide the site for the Southside Truancy Center and will commit a school site on the Northside for a second Truancy Center.

 

II. TIP PARTNERS:  City of Jacksonville (Dept. of Community Services), Duval County School System, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, State Attorney's Office, Dept. of Juvenile Justice (District IV), and the Yough Crisis Center.  All these parners are part of the larger, City of Jacksonville Juvenile Justice Comprehensive Strategy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Services Provided/Benefit to State:

 

 

 

 

 

THE CONTINUUM OF COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED:

 

LAW ENFORCEMENT:  Committed law enforcement leadership and front-line, law enforcement personnel from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the Beaches municipalities actively seek to identify and pickup truants for processing.

 

TRUANCY CENTER STAFF:  Dedicated staff members at two Truancy Centers, strategically located within the consolidated City/County Northside and Soughside will conduct detailed intake, parent-truant education on truancy issues, truant transportation services, data mainenance and analysis, and specific referral services.

 

DUVAL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM: Industrious principals, social workers, counselors, and Absentee Intervention Teams provide in-depth intervention services focused on addressing the root problems relating to the truant behavior.  Administration makes space available for the Truancy Centers on school property on the Northside and Southside of the City/County.

 

YOUTH CRISIS CENTER (YCC):  The professional and caring staff provides safe haven for truants whose parents are unable or fail to take custody of their children at the end of the school day.  The staff interfaces with school officials and other human services providers to intervene to attempt to reverse the truant behavior and to solve the underlying problems that contribute to the behavior.  YCC is also a CINS/FINS provider of services for the Dept. of Juvenile Justice.  The enhancements under the funding will provide on-site, master's level  counselors and a case manager for crisis intervention, counseling, and family case management services not otherwise provided.

 

DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE:  Dedicated probation officers, case managers assist, administrators and other staff members are involved with the intervention efforts for truants that have delinquency problems or are involved in the CINS/FINS process.

 

STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE:  Outstanding attorneys and staff intervene intensely with severe, habitual truancy cases by working with truants and their parents in the State Attorney's Office, Truancy Arbitration Program, when all requisite prior interventions have been completed under state law.  The State Attorney's Office will also undertake prosecution of parents who fail to comply with required processes relatring to the Truancy of their Children.

 

BENEFITS TO THE STATe

Funding this proposal will:

1-Help make the Jacksonville TIP program a "best practice" model for replicatin throughout the State of Florida and the nation.

2-Reduce juvenile crime and violence by intervening in truancy behavior - a gateway behavior to delinquency.  Help deter and prevent the onset of truancy and reduce truancy partners in intervening effectively to reduce habitual truancy and reduce truancy recidivism, and enhance school safety.  These outcomes will prove to be a benefit to the State by reducing costs of delinquency adjudication and sanctions and by the resultant increased public safety.  Safe communities attract business and families that wish to live and thrive in the community.

3-Improve attendance and academic achievement of habitual truants, thereby increasing test scores, promotiona and graduation rates and thereby improving the state rating of public schools in Duval County.  Enhance student and family commitment to school.  Help minimize the priority risk factors of lack of commitment to school, family management problems, and academic failure.  Improvement of school achievement and increased involvement and commitment by families at school will promote success in the Duval County public schools and enhance the status of education in the State of Florida as a whole

4-Increase the opportunity for more truants on the Northside and Westside of Duval County to receive more intensive, initial intervention through a Truancy Center.  These areas have the highest number of juvenile justice cases throughout the City/County.  Opening a second Truancy Center on the Northside will provide services to help reduce the risk of delinquency for children processed as truants in those areas.  Increase professional counseling and case-management services for truancy intervention throughout the City/County.

5-Substantially reduce the transportation time necessary to transport truants who may be picked up within 841 square mile furisdictional limits of the Consolidated City of Jacksonville (the largest city in land area in the US)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Measurable Outcome Anticipated:

 

 

 

 

 

TARGETED OUTCOMES:

1-Percentage of truants with subsequent improved attendance (target of 80%)

2-Percentage of truants with subsequent attendance problems such as tardiness (Target not to exceed 20%)

3-Percentage of truancy recidivism (Target not to exceed 10%)

4-Percentage of parents/guardians who successfully respond to Truancy Center calls to pick up truant child (Target of 95%)

5-Percentage of parents/guardians who rate their satisfaction with Truancy Center process an average score of "Good" or better on survey forms (Target of 90%)

6-Reduction of absenteeism rate for Duval County Schools below the state average.

 

PROCESS MEASURES:

1-Number of truants per area of pickup

2-Number of truants picked up and sent to the Jacksonville Assessment Center due to pending offenses

3-Disposition of truants by law enforcement personnel and Truancy Center Staff after initial processing.

 

OTHER SALIENT MEASUREMENTS:

1-Truant age charge.

2-Time of day of pickup of truants.

3-Number of truants picked up by day of the week.

4-Benchmarking numbers for use in assessing outcomes or in developing new outcomes or process measurements.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amount requested from the State for this project this year:

$408,600

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total cost of the project:

$539,471

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Request has been made to fund:

Operations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

In-Kind Amount:

$142,773

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this project previously funded by the State?

 

No

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is future-year funding likely to be requested?

 

Yes

 

 

Amount:

$408,600

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purpose for future year funding:

 

Recurring Operations

 

 

Will this be an annual request?

 

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?

 

Unknown

 

Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?

Unknown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is there a documented need for this project?

 

Yes

 

 

Documentation:

1-Juvenile Justice Comprehensive Strategy Plan 2-Fl. Juvenile Justice Statistics (DJJ), plus others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?

Yes

 

 

Hearing Body:

Duval Legislative Delegation

 

Meeting Date:

01/13/2000