Kansas City Truancy Court ensures children between the ages of 7 and 17 attend school as mandated by law. The Truancy Intervention Program (TIP) is designed to improve the school attendance of youth who are referred to the program by their school districts and to empower parents-guardians who were cited for their children not attending school as required under the compulsory law—while also providing resources to the families as needed.

TIP seeks to identify barriers to school attendance and provide support to the parents-guardians and children that will result in improved attendance rates, improvement in academic performance and possible behavior change. The program strives to provide parents-guardians with community resources to overcome the challenges of getting their child(ren) to school daily.

Case Management

Through this program, referrals are made to community agencies but due to extreme economic deprivation of program participants, many cannot afford needed services. With COMBAT grant funding, Kansas City Municipal Court can contract with a community agency to provide needed case management services to Truancy Court parents-guardians and their children.

The Case Manager will provide case management services, linkages, resources and follow-up services to the families who choose to participate in the program rather than receive an imposed sanction by the Truancy Court Judge.

The Case Manager will identify and address barriers and the root cause(s) of the truant behavior, and work with the family to address any unmet needs contributing to the truancy issue.

Needed Services

Additionally, COMBAT funding pays for services that participants would not have received otherwise. This will increase program success and reduce violence risk factors.TLIA (Turning Liabilities Into Assets) will provide contracted case management services, in addition to offering parenting classes, conflict resolution, stress management and other life skills.

If other needs are identified, participants will be referred to appropriate resources within the community.

The Case Manager will maintain regular contact with families, school liaisons and community referral agencies and will report any identified family challenges back to the court. School supplies and hygiene kits will be offered to families in need.

If parents-guardians voluntarily engage in the TIP and the child's attendance and academic performance improves, it is likely that no sanction will be imposed and the case will be dismissed.

Locations

Click on the window icon (upper right corner) of the map below to expand. List of all program locations is included with expanded view of map. Locations are also listed on this page below the map.