TRUANCY RESEARCH

The criminal trends and statistics associated with truancy are alarming. This should be of particular concern in Maricopa County, where more than 3,000 students ditch class every day.

Maricopa County

In 2007, there were an estimated 513,585 juveniles between the ages of 8 and 17 years old living in Maricopa County. In any given year, about 5% of the juvenile population between the ages of 8 and 17 in Maricopa County are referred at least once to Juvenile Court. Since 1999, truancy complaints received by the Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department have increased 34%. (Source: Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department)

Arizona and Other Jurisdictions

It is difficult to compare Arizona truancy rates to those around the country. As these sample statistics illustrate, different states and jurisdictions track and report attendance and truancy very differently. Most state laws do not specify the number of times a student must be absent without an excuse before he or she is considered truant. In Arizona, for instance, an unexcused absences for one class period during a school day is considered truancy; but to be truant in California a student has to miss more than 30 minutes of instruction without a valid excuse three times in a single school year.

• Colorado: High school students in Denver miss an average of 25 days per school year. One third of these meet the definition of "chronically truant." (Rocky Mountain News, April 29, 2006)
  
  
• Maryland: Maryland lawmakers recently enacted a tough law. Students with ten or more unexcused absences in the previous calendar year will have their licenses suspended. Schools will be required to send unexcused absences to the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Washington Post, March 16, 2007)
  
  
• Texas: Nearly one-third of American students drop out of school and Dallas, Texas has the seventh-worst graduation rate among large school districts. Texas now monitors chronically truant students electronically, using Global Positioning Systems. (New York Times, May 12, 2008)
  
  
• Georgia: Parents in DeKalb County, Georgia are now facing one of the most aggressive anti-truancy programs in the country, one where punishment can include time behind bars. The DeKalb program started in May 2006 and is designed to get children from the ages of 6 to 16 back in class. If a child has 10 or more unexcused absences from school, parents are referred to an intervention program where they sign a contract agreeing to make sure their children get to class. The program has increased attendance 2-3% over last year. (CNN.com, October 24, 2008)

Truancy's relationship to other crimes or antisocial behavior committed by juveniles:

"Truancy is a stepping stone to delinquent and criminal activity." (OJJDP Juvenile Justice Bulletin, October 1996). Experts agree that truancy is the leading indicator of future delinquent behavior. The National Center For School Engagement (NCSE) has published several studies connecting truancy to delinquency and an increasing number of jurisdictions are making the connection between truancy and daytime crimes. Peggy Eggemeyer, Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC), reports that of the approximately 900 to 1,000 juveniles committed to ADJC secure facilities each year, 91% have either dropped out of school, have serious school truancy history or were expelled from traditional schools. Multiple studies and reports support these findings:

• "Truancy is generally considered a major risk factor for dropping out of school and for delinquent behavior, including substance abuse, gang involvement and criminal activity that often leads to more serious problems in adult life." (Education Resources Information Center Clearinghouse on Urban Education Digest, Number 186, September 2003)
  
  
• Truancy has been linked to serious delinquent activity in youth and to significant negative behavior and characteristics in adults … including an increased likelihood of incarceration and an increased propensity for violent behavior. (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, September 2001)
  
  
• A study of prison inmates in St. Louis, Missouri over a 30-year period found that 89% of the inmates had a history of school truancy.
  
  
• In Colorado, a 2002 study indicated that over 90% of youth in detention for delinquent acts had a history of truancy. (Colorado Foundation for Families and Children)
  
  
• In 1991 and again in 1993, after analyzing data from more than 5,000 of the county's most serious juvenile offenders, three grand juries in Dade County, Florida found that excessive truancy was one of the three traits a majority of the juveniles had in common. (Dade County's Juvenile Offenders; A Study of the Need for Early Intervention)
  
  
• In 2004, the State of Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury completed a study that examined the consequences of truancy in schools. "Truancy negatively affects both students and communities. Students who exhibit truant behavior tend to have lower achievement levels, lower earning potential and higher dropout rates." Studies have determined that truant children are more likely to participate in deviant activities and can significantly increase the daytime crime rates in communities.
  
  
• A 1994 study, considered by many to be the defining study of truancy, states that "truancy may be the first sign in a series of antisocial behaviors that lead to negative personal and developmental outcomes. Truancy is associated with sexual promiscuity, alcohol and drug use, delinquency, and dropping out of school." (Truancy Intervention, Journal of Research and Development in Education; Bell, Rosen and Dynlacht)

Truancy's societal cost:

A study published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology suggests that allowing a youth to drop out of school and become involved in crime and drug abuse can cost a community $2.2 million over his/her lifetime.

Being in school consistently is important to ensuring children gain a strong foundation for subsequent learning. In mid-2008, the National Center for Children in Poverty published a truancy report that studies chronic early absences among children and the associated risks. "Present, Engaged, and Accounted For; the Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades" seeks to raise awareness of absences and provides data on how schools can identify these challenges.

Truancy's demographics:

As school children age, absenteeism and truancy increase. Girls demonstrate higher rates of absenteeism in high school than boys; however boys demonstrate increased rates of chronic truancy as they advance in grade level. Across the United States, ten years ago, the number of juvenile court cases for truancy was divided evenly between boys and girls. (National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1996)

Truancy prevention:

Truancy prevention programs can be effective in reducing daytime crime rates and decreasing the likelihood that children will become lifetime offenders.

• In Seattle, Washington, neighborhoods targeting truant youth were able to reduce daytime crime by over 60%. (Colorado Foundation for Families and Children)
  
  
• In North Miami Beach, Florida, after law enforcement opened a truancy center and began picking up truant youth, crime decreased substantially in targeted areas. Vehicle burglaries decreased by 22% and residential burglaries and criminal mischief complaints both decreased by 19%. (Police Eliminate Truancy: A PET Project, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, February 2000)
  
  
• Truancy prevention is a field of research that needs much more attention. Effective truancy prevention efforts may help to prevent or delay the onset of drug use among adolescents. (Journal of Adolescent Health, April 2007)

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