Protocol refined on bringing down truancy

Standard operating procedures for the School Attendance Review Committee are being refined as case referrals come in and the SOP is presented to school administrators to address truancy in public schools.

The SOP will set up the guidelines for referrals to the committee, according to information gathered at a Board of Education meeting last Friday.

As reported earlier this year, the committee was formed as an avenue for public schools to provide intervention for juveniles and their families in addressing truancy, irregular attendance, or insubordinate or disorderly behavior in school before referral to the juvenile justice system.

At the meeting, board chair Herman Guerrero said the committee could serve as a “reminder” for parents “to create greater interest in the welfare of their children.”

In an interview, he said SARC has the authority to visit and interview parents and their child at their homes.

So far, four cases systemwide have been referred to the committee, according board legal counsel Tiberias Mocanu.

No further information was available due to confidentiality policies.

The SOP was described as a “living document” and “bare-bones” but SARC members said the protocol would be refined as more cases come along.

An extensive referral form has been created, according to Mocanu at the meeting.

He told the board that he believes the SOP clearly defines their purpose and allows them to appropriately respond to situations.

“I think it will be refined as more cases come in,” he said, adding that the cases they have received the last few weeks have been met with “very good” and “immediate” response by SARC members.

The committee is composed of a parent of a school-age child, representatives from PSS, the Coalition of Private Schools, the juvenile probation unit of the Division of Youth Services, the Child Protective Unit of the Division of Youth Services, and the Department of Public Safety.

Board members Lucy Blanco-Maratita said data could be developed to a point where the issue is “nipped in the bud” and students would not be referred to SARC at all.

Mocanu acknowledged that the CNMI generally suffers from a lack of data, and pointed to possibly establishing data points for individual cases in the future so that data can be accumulated and trends visualized.

The committee takes the “whole-child” approach, with the juvenile’s socioeconomic background, home life, as well as school life considered, according to Mocanu.

“It’s a meeting of mental health professionals, youth services, law enforcement, school counselors. Basically, it’s one table with all the resources that the CNMI has available to any given student,” Mocanu said.