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BY ALICIA CRUZ
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Camden school administrators will use funds from a $63,000 Community Justice Grant from the State Department of Criminal Justice to pay almost 70 students $100 each to stop ditching school.
The move is the latest anti-truancy attempt by school officials to keep students coming to school on a consistent basis. The five-week program titled "I Can End Truancy," or "ICE-T," will offer conflict-resolution as well as anger-management workshops and educational reinforcement until September 30, Philly.com reported.
66 high school freshmen’s and seniors attended Tuesday their first anti-truancy session at the Isabel Miller Community Center in Camden's Liberty Park neighborhood. Students will attend the program three days a week.
Camden City Public School District’s Truancy Center located at the old Catto School Building on Saunders Street established another program at the Attendance Center that focused on enhancing educational, social and economic opportunities for students. The group zeroed in on the systematic causes of truancy and absenteeism by linking with juvenile service providers. The District's website said through their intervention, they have learned that truant students were not missing school to play hooky or have fun.
"Many of these youth have overwhelming social and/or economic problems. The scope of their problems is difficult to perceive until you are confronted with them on a daily basis. Due to the complexity of the problems of many of these truant youth, five-phase program intervention, referral and follow-up stages are facilitated by a certified social worker who will identify other services that should be utilized to meet the needs of each student."The city's daytime curfew law (Title 18A: 38-31) reads: "Any child between the ages of at 6 and under 21 who is out of school during regular school hours is subject to be picked up by the police and/or the school district’s Truancy Patrol, unless he/she is accompanied by a parent/guardian. Parents or guardians are subject to penalties for violations of the curfew law."
According to the school district, 20 attendance officers conduct regular sweeps throughout Camden during school hours. Camden Board of Education Attendance officers, as well as the Camden City Police, Pennsauken Police and surrounding law enforcement officials also aid in the apprehension of truants.
One intake officer, one clerk and the Chief Truancy Officer are present in the Center to facilitate the intake process. After intake is completed, the officers return the student to their assigned schools. The family is issued a verbal warning for the student’s first offense; a second offense earns the student a summons to appear in court.
Putting them in prison costs MUCH more money that whatever it takes to make then decent citizens in the first place.
Idiots!!!