[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 101 (Friday, July 24, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8997-S8999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BINGAMAN:
  S. 2355. A bill to prevent truancy and daytime juvenile crime; to the 
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


      truancy prevention and juvenile crime reduction act of 1998

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Truancy 
Prevention and Juvenile Crime Reduction Act of 1998. In doing so, I 
would like to discuss the importance of this measure and how I believe 
the issue of truancy, as it relates to juvenile crime, has long been 
neglected.
  More people are realizing that truancy often is the first sign of 
trouble in the life of a young person. It is the first indication that 
a young person may be on a sad track to a life of crime, drugs, and 
other serious problems.
  Of course, in most every case, it is an early indication that a young 
person has no interest in school and inevitably will drop out. This is 
especially sad because many truants and eventual drop-outs are two and 
a half times more likely than high school graduates to be on welfare 
and twice as likely to be unemployed or to be paid at the lower end of 
the wage scale.
  Truancy is the top-ranking characteristic of criminals--more common 
than such factors as coming from a single-parent family and being 
abused as a child. High rates of truancy directly are linked to high 
daytime crime rates, including violence, burglary and vandalism. As 
much as 44 percent of violent juvenile crime takes place during school 
hours, and as much as 75 percent of children ages 13 to 16 who are 
arrested and prosecuted for crimes are truants. It is startling to know 
that some cities report as many as 70 percent of daily student absences 
are unexcused, and the total number of absences in a single city can 
reach 4,000.
  Moreover, society pays a very heavy social and economic price due to 
truancy. Only 34 percent of inmates have completed high school 
education, and we all are well aware of the staggering costs 
associated with incarcerating an individual. Sadly, as many as 17 
percent of youth under the age of 18 that enter adult prisons have not 
completed eighth grade, 75 percent have not completed 10th grade.

  Put in graphic economic terms, it is estimated that truants and high 
school drop outs cost the nation $240 billion in lost earnings and 
foregoing taxes over their lifetimes, and the cost of associated crime 
control is staggering and perhaps immeasurable.
  In most cases the parents may not be aware their child is truant, and 
we

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have to do a better job of notifying them when a child is not in 
school. Most studies indicate that when parents, schools, law 
enforcement and community leaders all work together to prevent truancy, 
to intervene at its early stages, and to create meaningful 
accountability, we can increase school attendance and reduce daytime 
crime rates.
  Because truancy is usually an indicator of later delinquency and 
criminal behavior, we have one of the best opportunities to identify 
the kids that are on track to later problems and to intervene before 
the problems get too serious. The unfortunate truth, however, is that 
is addressing juvenile crime, we have not focused enough attention on 
this specific issue, and although prevention programs can work, there 
is a lack of targeted federal funding for effective truancy prevention.
  The Departments of Justice and Education both have recognized truancy 
prevention as a key reducing juvenile crime. The Departments jointly 
have issued a series of reports called ``Youth out of the Education 
Mainstream,'' that shine a positive spotlight on various proven 
comprehensive, collaborative truancy models from around the country.
  Once such program is the Daytime Curfew Program in Roswell, New 
Mexico, and the Truancy Intervention Project in Fulton County, Georgia, 
administered by Judge Glenda Hatchett. Another successful program 
included in this Act is the Grade Court, which is Farmington, New 
Mexico, administered by Judge Paul Onuska. All of these programs 
integrate parental involvements with schools, law enforcement, 
judiciary, and other community stakeholders in a collaborative effort 
to reduce truancy and juvenile crime.
  This Act authorizes $25 million per year targeted at building upon 
integral partnerships between local government, schools, law 
enforcement, and the courts. Without a doubt, $25 million is a very 
small price to pay when you consider the dividends we expect when young 
people stay in school and out of trouble.

  In general, this Act provides incentives for partnerships between 
schools and local government, including local law enforcement to build 
parental involvement in situations where they may be useful and 
parental responsibility when necessary. The Act also provides 
incentives for these partnerships to develop meaningful penalties for 
young people and even their parents when truancy has become a chronic 
problem, and to allow schools the means to develop in-school 
alternatives to suspension and expulsion for chronic truants. This Act 
also will give schools the resources to acquire the technological tools 
to notify parents automatically in the event of an unexcused absence.
  The Act is endorsed by the Youth Law Center, the Children's Defense 
Fund, and the National Network for Youth, which has more than 500 
community youth-serving organizations and personnel nationwide all 
committed to helping keep our young people on track and keeping our 
communities peaceful. I thank these organizations for their assistance 
and know this Act will be enthusiastically received by many more 
important organizations. I urge my Senate colleagues to support the 
bill for passage this year.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2355

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Truancy Prevention and 
     Juvenile Crime Reduction Act of 1998''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Truancy is the first sign of trouble--the first 
     indicator that a young person is giving up and losing his or 
     her way.
       (2) Many students who become truant eventually drop out of 
     school, and high school drop outs are two and a half times 
     more likely to be on welfare than high school graduates; 
     twice as likely to be unemployed, or if employed, earn lower 
     salaries.
       (3) Truancy is the top-ranking characteristic of 
     criminals--more common than such factors as coming from 
     single-parent families and being abused as children.
       (4) High rates of truancy are linked to high daytime 
     burglary rates and high vandalism.
       (5) As much as 44 percent of violent juvenile crime takes 
     place during school hours.
       (6) As many as 75 percent of children ages 13-16 who are 
     arrested and prosecuted for crimes are truants.
       (7) Some cities report as many as 70 percent of daily 
     student absences are unexcused, and the total number of 
     absences in a single city can reach 4,000 per day.
       (8) Society pays a significant social and economic cost due 
     to truancy: only 34 percent of inmates have completed high 
     school education; 17 percent of youth under age 18 entering 
     adult prisons have not completed grade school (8th grade or 
     less), 25 percent completed 10th grade, and 2 percent 
     completed high school.
       (9) Truants and later high school drop outs cost the Nation 
     $240 billion in lost earnings and foregone taxes over their 
     lifetimes, and the cost of crime control is staggering.
       (10) In many instances, parents are unaware a child is 
     truant.
       (11) Effective truancy prevention, early intervention, and 
     accountability programs can improve school attendance and 
     reduce daytime crime rates.
       (12) There is a lack of targeted funding for effective 
     truancy prevention programs in current law.

     SEC. 3. GRANTS.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Eligible partnership.--The term ``eligible 
     partnership'' means a partnership between 1 or more qualified 
     units of local government and 1 or more local educational 
     agencies.
       (2) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
     agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 14101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     8801).
       (3) Qualified unit of local government.--The term 
     ``qualified unit of local government'' means a unit of local 
     government that has in effect, as of the date on which the 
     eligible partnership submits an application for a grant under 
     this section, a statute or regulation that meets the 
     requirements of paragraphs (12), (13), (14), and (15) of 
     section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency and 
     Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)).
       (4) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
     government'' means any city, county, township, town, borough, 
     parish, village, or other general purpose political 
     subdivision of a State, or any Indian tribe.
       (b) Grant Authority.--The Attorney General, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of Education, shall make grants in 
     accordance with this section on a competitive basis to 
     eligible partnerships to reduce truancy and the incidence of 
     daytime juvenile crime.
       (c) Maximum amount; allocation; renewal.--
       (1) Maximum amount.--The total amount awarded to an 
     eligible partnership under this section in any fiscal year 
     shall not exceed $100,000.
       (2) Allocation.--Not less than 25 percent of each grant 
     awarded to an eligible partnership under this section shall 
     be allocated for use by the local educational agency or 
     agencies participating in the partnership.
       (3) Renewal.--A grant awarded under this section for a 
     fiscal year may be renewed for an additional period of not 
     more than 2 fiscal years.
       (d) Use of Funds.--
       (1) In general.--Grant amounts made available under this 
     section may be used by an eligible partnership to 
     comprehensively address truancy through the use of--
       (A) parental involvement in prevention activities, 
     including meaningful incentives for parental responsibility;
       (B) sanctions, including community service and drivers' 
     license suspension for students who are habitually truant;
       (C) parental accountability, including fines, teacher-aid 
     duty, community service;
       (D) in-school truancy prevention programs, including 
     alternative education and in-school suspension;
       (E) involvement of the local law enforcement, social 
     services, judicial, business, and religious communities, and 
     nonprofit organizations;
       (F) technology, including automated telephone notice to 
     parents and computerized attendance system; or
       (G) elimination of 40-day count and other unintended 
     incentives to allow students to be truant after a certain 
     time of school year.
       (2) Model programs.--In carrying out this section, the 
     Attorney General may give priority to funding programs that 
     attempt to replicate 1 or more of the following model 
     programs:
       (A) The Truancy Intervention Project of the Fulton County, 
     Georgia, Juvenile Court.
       (B) The TABS (Truancy Abatement and Burglary Suppression) 
     program of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
       (C) The Roswell Daytime Curfew Program of Roswell, New 
     Mexico.
       (D) The Stop, Cite and Return Program of Rohnert Park, 
     California.
       (E) The Stay in School Program of New Haven, Connecticut.
       (F) The Atlantic County Project Helping Hand of Atlantic 
     County, New Jersey.
       (G) The THRIVE (Truancy Habits Reduced Increasing Valuable 
     Education) initiative of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
       (H) The Norfolk, Virginia project using computer software 
     and data collection.
       (I) The Community Service Early Intervention Program of 
     Marion, Ohio.

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       (J) The Truancy Reduction Program of Bakersfield, 
     California.
       (K) The Grade Court program of Farmington, New Mexico.
       (L) Any other model program that the Attorney General 
     determines to be appropriate.
       (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $25,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, and 2001.

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