The cases are initiated by School District personnel who identify parents whose children have been absent 25 or more days. A private complaint is filed against the child's parent or guardian who is subpoenaed to appear, with the child, in the cluster court. The presiding Master, working with school representatives and social workers from the Department of Human Services, assesses the problem causing the truancy and develops an action plan to address the problem, such as counseling, tutoring, parent effectiveness training, etc. Once the action plan is developed, parents and children are ordered to comply. Approximately 30,000 children are absent from school a day in Philadelphia.
Truancy has a dramatic practical and monetary impact on society.
Dropouts are more likely to be unemployed or earning minimum wage salaries. Many truants later become known to the delinquent or criminal courts. While Project S.T.A.R.T. will not solve every truancy case, it has experienced a high compliance rate so far and is an excellent first step toward future expansion. For further information about the project, contact Brian Dillon, Assistant Project Coordinator, at 686-4296. Back to top Family Court Honors Employees Contact us with comments, corrections or suggestions.