SCHOOLS TO HIRE TRUANT OFFICER

Bob Blank, a member of Cape Girardeau's Board of Education, thinks a truant officer will help improve attendance. It did for him, he recalled.

The school board approved $6,000 in matching funds to hire a truant officer.

Randy Rhodes, juvenile officer, wrote and received a grant for $27,440 from Missouri's Department of Public Safety for the officer, who should be hired within the next few months.

"I believe this program will work," Blank told the board. "I remember in my younger days it inspired me to be in school more days."

Inspiring students to be in school is the goal.

"The person will do what truant officers have traditional done," Rhodes explained, "make face-to-face contact with the kid or parent, find out why the absentees are occurring and offer assistance."

Rhodes said research shows that kids attending school are less likely to get into trouble with juvenile authorities.

"It's our business to see they are in the classroom and not on the corner," he said.

In addition, research shows that students who are chronically absent from school won't do well in their classes. The school district also loses state money for every day a student is absent from school.

In fact, Superintendent Dan Tallent said the entire $6,000 could be recovered if students in the district were in school an additional 720 days.

The truant officer will be a deputy juvenile officer employed by the juvenile office and with authority to petition the juvenile court to take action against a child.

But Rhodes said typically the truant officer will be helping families access services that will get a child to school.

The officer will work on referrals from school principals.

Rhodes said the truant officer will be working with children at all grades, but he is hoping to keep an eye on elementary students. "They are more amenable to the services that are available," Rhodes said. "We can make a bigger difference."

Although the truant officer will work throughout the 32nd judicial circuit, most of the effort will be concentrated in Cape Girardeau.

Rhodes said 85 percent of the juvenile office's referrals concern Cape Girardeau children.

In addition, the truant officer will work with the school resource officer from the Cape Girardeau Police Department.