Stop Truancy Outreach Program

PROJECT SUMMARY FOR 2001-SI-FX-0009

The State of Rhode Island, through the Stop Trauncy Outreach Program, seeks to fully integrate, for the first time, a program to adequately address the issue of school truancy on a statewide basis. The goal of the STOP Program is to organize fragmented social service agencies into a connected and systematic continuum of services that bolsters factors which are protective of youth while mitigating the risks. The chronic truants will be identified by each school. Formal Family Court petitions will be prepared, filed and served upon the student and parent(s) by the school district's truant officer or a police officer notifying them to appear before the Truancy Court at a date and time certain. The Court sessions are informal and will require weekly sessions to monitor attendence, academic progress and behavioral issues. This program structure will result in reduced truancy, valid grade promotion, and ultimately high school graduation. Additional services offered through STOP encompass family counseling, student counseling, mentoring, literacy programs, substance abuse counseling and mediation of parent-child disobedient cases. Successful participants will display a significant improvement in school, self esteem and family functioning.