Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project, Houston, TX

EVALUATION OF THE GULFTON TRUANCY REDUCTION
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report details the evaluation outcomes of two components of the Gulfton Truancy
Reduction Demonstration Project: police visits to the homes of truant students and case
management for truants. The goals of this portion of the evaluation were to 1) assess the
effectiveness of these two components in reducing absences and improving grades, 2) assess the
effectiveness of case management in improving school engagement, 3) to a lesser extent examine
the relationship between grades and attendance in general, and 4) compare the costs and benefits
of case management 2 . The majority of data for this report came from 2004-2005 school year
records, student and parent surveys, and police records.
The Gulfton area, and specifically the target high school, Lee, is primarily Hispanic.
More than 70% of Gulfton students have limited English proficiency, compared with 27.6% in
Houston Independent School District and 13.4% statewide. A large part of the community is
made up of Mexican immigrants. In addition, Gulfton’s median family income of $18,733 is
nearly 30% below the city’s median. In the 97-98 school year, 75% of Gulfton students were
eligible for free/reduced lunch.
Two main components of the truancy reduction effort in Houston were examined. The
first, the practice of police visiting a truant students’ home, was found to be effective in
improving attendance, especially within the two weeks immediately following the visit. Long
term effectiveness was not established, although it is possible that for some students this practice
has a long term effect. Students who received these visits typically missed school for a variety of
reasons. For instance, 40% percent of students reported being new to the school, and thus may
1 This report was supported by Grant No. 2005-JPFX-0059 awarded by the Office of Jevenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
2 A cost-benefit of police home visits was also planned; however, given the short-term effects of police visits it would be
unfeasible to perform this analysis.
Evaluation of the Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project II