Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project, Houston, TX

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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 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 3 . In Chapter 2 we assess attendance and grade outcomes based on police visits, also known as “knock and talks”. To do this, we examined school records for the 2004-2005 school year for students who received police visits between Fall 2003 and Spring 2005. In Chapter 3 we examine the effects of case management on attendance and grades by analyzing school records for the 2004 – 2005 school year and school engagement surveys from students and parents. As part of this examination, we compared the data from students who received case management to two groups who did not. The comparison group students were identified by school staff as being truant, but they were not involved in this intervention. One group was from Lee High School (also the treatment group school) and the other was from Milby High School. Descriptions of the project and the locations of study follow. In Chapter 4, we examine the costs and benefits of case management. Finally, Chapter 5 discusses the overall findings and presents recommendations. Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project - Houston, TX The Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project was funded by the Office of 3 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 2
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The funder required that program staff participate in an evaluation of two aspects of their truancy intervention: home visits conducted by police and individualized case management. Gulfton is a 3.4 square mile apartment community. Due to the large, multi-ethnic immigrant population in this area and language barriers within this community, many agencies believe that the 2000 Census undercounted the Gulfton population. According to the 2000 Census, the Gulfton population is 45,106, of which 13,694 residents are aged 17 or under. Social service agencies and government officials working in Gulfton continue to estimate the true population of Gulfton at 60,000, of which more than 20,000 are juveniles. This represents the highest population density of any Houston community. 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. • Nearly 95% of Gulfton elementary and middle school students are “economically disadvantaged, nearly double the Texas rates. • More than 70% of Gulfton students have limited English proficiency, compared with 27.6% in Houston Independent School District and 13.4% statewide. Truancy remains one of the prominent risk factors for youth in Houston’s Gulfton neighborhood. The Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project works to reduce the incidence of truancy and associated juvenile delinquency among high-risk, ninth grade youth who attend Robert E. Lee High School. The program's overriding purpose is to educate the community about truancy and the need to prevent truant behavior, provide early identification, assessment and intervention with truant youth and their families, and improve juvenile and Evaluation of the Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project 3
Page 1 and 2: RE-ENGAGING YOUTH IN SCHOOL EVALUAT
Page 3 and 4: EVALUATION OF THE GULFTON TRUANCY R
Page 5: Acknowledgements Special thanks to
Page 9 and 10: Table 1: Lee and Milby High School
Page 11 and 12: eferred to various other options, l
Page 13 and 14: straight line shows that there is a
Page 15 and 16: mean absences 0.50 Observed Linear
Page 17 and 18: Grades Given that grades are likely
Page 19 and 20: CHAPTER THREE: CASE MANAGEMENT Scho
Page 21 and 22: failed to effect achievement. Never
Page 23 and 24: test increased. It is difficult to
Page 25 and 26: It is commonly believed however, th
Page 27 and 28: attendance at some level, given tha
Page 29 and 30: 2) Moderate: Success is defined as
Page 31 and 32: CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOM
Page 33 and 34: Appendices Evaluation of the Gulfto
Page 35 and 36: National Center for School Engageme
Page 37 and 38: 22. How much do you agree with each
Page 39 and 40: 26. During the past 12 months, how
Page 41 and 42: Appendix B: Tables of Differences b
Page 43 and 44: Most of my teachers understand me.*
Page 45 and 46: I feel excited by the work in schoo
Page 47 and 48: I try my best at school. I skip (cu
Page 49 and 50: School is a waste of time. I follow
Page 51 and 52: LEE H.S. (TREATMENT GROUP) AND MILB
Page 53 and 54: LEE H.S. (TREATMENT GROUP) AND MILB
Page 55 and 56: During the last 3 months, how often
Page 57 and 58:
LEE H.S. (COMPARISON GROUP) - PRE-
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Gulfton Truancy Reduction Demonstration Project, Houston, TX

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