New state money will help law enforcement keep children in school. The state of Alabama increased money for a key truancy program. The program looks at why kids skip school. Experts say truancy can cause kids to fall behind in school. John Tyson, the director of the Helping Families Initiative with the Volunteers of America Southeast, said he was the district attorney in Mobile back in 2003. The money was modest back then but now things have changed.
“This year, they gave us a $500,000 increase, bringing our total budget to $3,300,000 from the state of Alabama. We're gonna spend 85 percent of that $500,000 in the field, that is, we are going to put it in the district attorney's offices to go to work. We're really proud of being able to do that,†said Tyson.Â
Tyson says the increase in money will help address truancy issues.
“Well, I would say that it's a horrible problem and here in Alabama. As you know, Covid interrupted the school. And I would say for the best part of two years, we didn't have any real reliable attendance information,†said Tyson.
Prior to the funding, there were multiple concerns raised about the Helping Families Initiative, including the amount of money spent on its administrative costs. Tyson says HFI started a review of itself back in October.
The initiative operates in portions of 21 districts and says it's effective.
HFI sends letters home to parents through the DA's office when their kids skip school. Alabama State Sen. Arthur Orr said working with the DA seems to get the attention of families.
“It seems to get the attention of families. So when the letter goes in to mommy and daddy and says little Johnny been missing school under Alabama law, the parents can be held accountable,†said Tyson.Â
Tyson said if a kid misses 10 to 14 days of school in the 9th grade, it reduces the chance of them graduating by 60 percent.
