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Kids Doing Time for What's Not a Crime: The Over-Incarceration of Status Offenders

Mar 18, 2014, Marc Levin & Derek Cohen

This new report from the Texas Public Policy Foundation was developed in order to produce an up-to-date understanding of the nation’s progress in reducing confinement of status offenders,…

From Courts to Communities: The Right Response to Truancy, Running Away, and Other Status Offenses

Dec 9, 2013, Annie Salsich

Young people who run away from home, skip school, or engage in other risky behaviors that are only prohibited because of their age end up in courtrooms every year by the thousands. Responding to…

SORC Toolkit Module 1: Structuring System Change

Mar 19, 2014, Status Offense Reform Center

Toolkit for Status Offense System Reform Transforming a juvenile justice oriented status offense system – one that is likely complex and has been in place for decades – into one that…

SORC Toolkit Module 2: Using Local Information to Guide System Change

Mar 19, 2014, Status Offense Resource Center

Toolkit for Status Offense System Reform Transforming a juvenile justice oriented status offense system – one that is likely complex and has been in place for decades – into one that…

SORC Toolkit Module 3: Planning and Implementing System Change

Apr 30, 2014, Status Offense Reform Center

Toolkit for Status Offense System Reform Transforming a juvenile justice oriented status offense system – one that is likely complex and has been in place for decades – into one that is…

Keeping Kids Out of Court: Rethinking Our Response to Status Offenses

Oct 8, 2014, Status Offense Reform Center

Status offenses are behaviors that are problematic but non-criminal in nature —such as running away from home, skipping school, or violating curfew—which are prohibited under the law only…

Runaway Youth: A Research Brief

Dec 8, 2014, Vera Institute of Justice

This research brief summarizes empirical literature on youth who run away from home.

When Misbehaving is a Crime

Aug 3, 2017, Mahsa Jafarian, Vidhya Ananthakrishnan, Vera Status Offense Reform Center

As policymakers and practitioners across the country look to reduce mass incarceration, status offenses demand attention as early and improper points of entry into the juvenile justice system, and…

The “Becca Bill” 20 Years Later: How Washington’s Truancy Laws Negatively Impact Children

Dec 15, 2015, Vera Institute of Justice

The Becca laws have made Washington State the country’s foremost jailer of children for “status offenses” like skipping school. It allows parents to use legal petitions called ARY…

Juvenile Justice Reform: County Leadership Roles and Opportunities

Dec 29, 2014, National Association of Counties

This report details why it is important to improve juvenile justice systems and how county governments can lead improvement efforts in their role as primary local providers of health, justice and…

Status Offenders and Race

Dec 12, 2014, Center for Children's Law and Policy

Status Offenders and Race

SORC Toolkit Module 4: Monitoring and Sustaining System Change

Dec 8, 2014, Vera Institute of Justice

Monitoring and Sustaining System Change describes three common strategies for evaluating reform efforts: (1) performance monitoring, (2) process evaluations, and (3) outcome evaluations. Because…

Innovation Brief: Mental Health Screening as a Valuable Tool for Truancy Intervention

Dec 8, 2014, Center for Children & Youth Justice

The Clark County Truancy Project (CCTP) was designed to effectively respond to truancy while reducing the need for formal court intervention. Research indicates that one of the most prevalent issues…

Advancing Juvenile Justice: Recommendations in Three Key Areas

Dec 8, 2014, Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Collaborative for Change, Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice, Status Offense Reform Center

As OJJDP considers how best to carry out its mission, three core issues stand out for their intense need, their proven potential for reform, and the opportunities they offer OJJDP to lead significant…

Improving Louisiana's Status Offender System: Model Program Service Models

Dec 8, 2014, LSUHSC Institute for Public Health and Justice

Improving Louisiana's Status Offender System: Model Program Service Models

Improving Louisiana's Status Offender System

Dec 8, 2014, LSUHSC Institute for Public Health and Justice

Improving Louisiana's Status Offender System

Notes from the Field: Maricopa County, AZ

Dec 8, 2014, Vera Institute of Justice

This profile provides a summary of status offense system reform in Maricopa County, AZ, including the creation of a citation court to divert youth alleged of status offenses from traditional court…

Notes from the Field: Clayton County, GA

Dec 8, 2014, Vera Institute of Justice

This profile describes the collaborative effort that led to a drastic drop in school referrals to court in Clayton County, Georgia.

Notes from the Field: Campbell County, KY

Dec 8, 2014, Vera Institute of Justice

This profile from our Notes from the Field series provides an overview of recently-developed case management model for status offense cases in Campbell County, KY.

Innovation Brief: A Collaborative Approach to Truancy Reform

Dec 4, 2014, Center for Children & Youth Justice

High school dropout rates in Benton and Franklin Counties in Washington State are significantly higher than the national average. Truancy is a clear predictor of high school dropout. The…

Runaway Youth: A Research Brief

May 28, 2014, Sydney McKinney, Status Offense Reform Center

Running away is a status offense in 39 states. While the exact number of youth who run away from home each year is unknown, evidence suggests that most return home within a few days. This research…

Selected Blogs from Status Offense Reform Center

Jan 1, 2014, Vera Institute of Justice

A variety of blogs that have received positive attention on the Vera website.

Evaluation of Responses to Truancy in Clark County, Washington: Background Factors and Outcomes

Dec 31, 2013, Washington State University/Vancouver

Evaluation of Responses to Truancy in Clark County, Washington: Background Factors and Outcomes

Innovation Brief: Using Community Truancy Boards to Tackle Truancy

Dec 12, 2013, Bonnie Bush, Juvenile Court Administrator, Spokane County Juvenile Court

In 2007, after a coalition of community stakeholders expressed concern with the high dropout rates and high occurrence of truancy in their Eastern Washington community, the Spokane County Juvenile…

Truancy: A Research Brief

Dec 8, 2013, Vera Institute of Justice

This research brief summarizes empirical literature on truancy from the last 20 years, highlighting reasons why students skip school, risk and protective factors, and what is known about the…

Notes from the Field: Florida

Dec 8, 2013, Vera Institute of Justice

Notes from the Field: Florida

Kids are Not Adults

Dec 1, 2013, National Conference of State Legislatures

Research distinguishing adolescents from adults has led states to re-establish boundaries between the criminal and juvenile justice systems. New policies reflect the growing body of research on how…

Spokane County (WA) Toolkit for Community Truancy Board Replication

Nov 25, 2013, Jennie Marshall

This toolkit is for any school district wishing to improve its ability to identify barriers to school attendance, problem-solve solutions, connect truant youth and their families with community-based…

A Pilot Phase Analysis of King County, Washington’s PathNet Program Years 1 and 2 combined

Mar 31, 2013, The Vera Institute of Justice

PathNet was created to address the high rates of dropout youth in King County with involvement in the juvenile justice system. PathNet uses a path of networked organizations within the community to…

Clark County Truancy Manual

Mar 1, 2013, Jodi Martin

The Clark County Truancy Manual is intended to provide a single source of information for individuals involved in the truancy court process, including school officials, Juvenile Court staff, Clark…

Evaluation of Responses to Truancy in Clark County, Washington: Background Factors and Outcomes

Jan 31, 2013, Clayton Mosher, Department of Sociology, Washington State University Vancouver With Jodi Martin, Clark County Juvenile Court, and Karyl Ramsey

Clark County’s multi-layered approach to addressing truancy is highlighted in this report. The Clark County Truancy Project, a collaborative effort between the school districts, juvenile…

Transitions of Truants: Community Truancy Board as a Turning Point in the Lives of Adolescents

Dec 1, 2012, Washington State University Tri-Cities

Transitions of Truants: Community Truancy Board as a Turning Point in the Lives of Adolescents

Washington State's Models for Change Truancy Interventions: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Dec 1, 2012, National Center for School Engagement

Washington State's Models for Change Truancy Interventions: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Positive Power: Exercising Judicial Leadership to Prevent Court Involvement and Incarceration of Non-Delinquent Youth

Jul 17, 2012, Coalition for Juvenile Justice

Juvenile and family court judges play a critical role in the lives of youth and families who come into contact with the courts. When you spend time with juvenile judges or their client families, you…

Judicial Perspectives on the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders in the United States with Recommendations for Policy and Practice

Jul 17, 2012, National Council of Juvenile and Family Courty Judges and Coalition for Juvenile Justice

Deinstitutionalization of status offenders (DSO) is one of the four core requirements of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). Status offenses are offenses that only apply to…

Addressing the Needs of Multi-System Youth: Strengthening the Connection between Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice

Mar 1, 2012, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University and Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps

It has been known for quite some time that children involved in the child welfare system are at risk of “crossing over” to the juvenile justice system and, inversely, that many juvenile…

Truancy Literature Review

Jun 30, 2011, Tonisha Jones

A general overview of the topic of truancy behavior, educational status of ethnic/racial minorities, ethnic/racial minorities barriers to educational attainment achievement and recommendations to…

West Valley School District (Spokane, WA) Community Truancy Board Evaluation

Jan 31, 2011, Washington State University, Division of Governmental Studies and Services

This report describes the implementation and effectiveness of The West Valley Community Truancy Boards (WVCTB) which are designed to engage truant youth and their families in a restorative-justice…

Washington State Models for Change Newsletter-July 2010

Jul 6, 2010, WA State Models for Change

Hello from Benton/Franklin Counties Models for Change! We hope this issue of our newsletter finds you well. It looks like summer is finally here and with that comes a chance to breathe a bit and…

Clark County Truancy Program: Mental Health Screening Protocols - Administering MAYSI 2

Nov 11, 2009, Jodi Martin

Protocol incorporating MAYSI-2 screening into the Clark County Truancy Program intake procedure.

Benton/Franklin Counties School Truancy Survey Instrument

Nov 1, 2009, Nick Lovrich

For collecting information on how state truancy laws have been implemented at the school building level. Updated as of March 20, 2013

Survey of Spokane County Schools on Truancy Issues – Final Results

Aug 1, 2009, Kevin Wright

To obtain a comprehensive understanding of school building implementation of the state truancy laws.

Benton Franklin Counties Juvenile Justice Personnel Truancy Survey Report

Jun 30, 2009, Nick Lovrich

Report on juvenile court staff perceptions of truancy practices and resources in Benton/Franklin Counties. Updated as of March 20, 2013

Benton Franklin Counties Existing Truancy Data Analysis and Case Tracking

Jun 30, 2009, Nick Lovrich

To inform Benton/Franklin Counties Models for Change when developing system reforms targeting truant youth, with an emphasis on Hispanic/Latino youth. Document also contains the coding instrument…

Benton-Franklin Truancy Case Study Coding Instrument

Jun 30, 2009, Nick Lovrich

Coding instrument used when conducting a comprehensive analysis of 30 traunt youth, 10 each from the following categories: cases resolved without court intervention; cases resolved with court…

Changing the Status Quo for Status Offenders: New York State's Efforts to Support Troubled Teens

Dec 1, 2004, Tina Chiu & Sara Mogulescu

In December 2004, the Vera Institute of Justice released an 'Issue in Brief' discussing the work of child welfare and probation leaders in New York State to reform the PINS (Persons in Need of…

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