Dennis Kirk Quotations

There aren't even truant officers any more. I deal with kids that don't come to school and why (they don't). It has a lot to do with family problems. That is the biggest change. The counselor must find out how to solve the problem. The truancy officer must connect with the community and understand family problems.

I had one girl miss 100 days. Kids sneak out in the middle of the night and the parents don't know where they are at. They look in their room and they are gone.

They send an Allegheny County Child & Youth Services family worker to the house to see what is going on. CYF is overwhelmed now and they have to prioritize what they can do and what they can't do. We have to keep an open line of communications with the family. We have to connect with families and that takes a lot of patience to be more successful.

We use the same general approach. We have to understand why he isn't coming to school and listen to what is coming between them as a person because some anger is directed at you or the school. Anger could be directed at another individual or a life situation. In order to make the student/parent relationship successful, the student must be in touch with his own pain, identity and change.

There are all different titles to deal with truancy. There are different responsibilities and certifications that an individual can have.

Some kids are put in shelters and there are a number of reasons. Kids run away from home and there are other problems in the community that have an impact on attendance. They are breaking state law by not coming to school.