Recently, the Kings County District Attorney, Charles J. Hynes was asked the following question by a Brooklyn parent, “My teenager was picked up by truancy officers, and I received a call about this from the District Attorney’s Office. Why is the D.A.’s Office contacting me?” District Attorney Hynes’ response follows:

My concern about the issue of truancy was first sparked in 1997 by the case of Justina Morales, an 8 year old child brutally murdered by her mother’s boyfriend. At the time of the discovery of her body, she had been absent from school for over 100 days. As a result of that case, I opened up a Grand Jury investigation to learn how it was that a child could be absent from school for such an extended period and have it go virtually unnoticed by the system. What I learned was that truancy amongst New

York City’s youth had reached unprecedented levels, that it was contributing in large part to youth victimization and daytime crime, and that on any given day in Brooklyn, as many as 50,000 students were absent from school.

In 1998, I created TRACK (Truancy Reduction Alliance to Contact Kids). TRACK is a collaboration between my Office, the New York City Police Department, the NYC Board of Education and Administration for Children’s Services. Here is how it works: Truant students who are on the street during normal school hours are stopped by police officers. Failure on the part of the students to produce adequate identification and proof of destination (i.e., doctor’s appointment, court appearance) leads to their being taken to one of several TRACK Centers located throughout Brooklyn. There, student’s parents are notified to respond to the Center. While at the Center, Department of Education personnel verify student information and check on each student’s attendance record. Students and parents also have the opportunity to speak with a Truancy Counselor- a trained social worker employed by my Office- to address any problems or issues which may be causing the student to be absent from school. The Truancy Counselor then makes an assessment and, if needed, refers the family for appropriate services. These services can include after-school programs and youth development/mentoring programs, as well as substances abuse and mental health services. The hope is that by intervening in this way, we can prevent the student from developing a pattern of truancy, which has been demonstrated to lead to more serious problems in the future, often including criminal behaviors.

I am proud to report that as a result of the TRACK program, we have located 97 missing children and 271 runaways, uncovered teen prostitution rings, disrupted gang activity, and helped thousands of children return to school. In the 2007-2008 school year to date, 5593 students have been brought into a Brooklyn TRACK Center, 84% of the parent/guardians have reported to the Center to pick up their children and the recidivism rate remains at 3%.

TRACK has proven highly effective in combating truancy among older children. I also stand firmly committed to addressing the issues of truancy that impact younger children and often play a role in the tragedy of child abuse. In this country, it is every child’s right to receive an education, and it is every parents’ obligation (both moral as well as legal) to provide them with one. In the last year, we all learned about the terrible case of the kidnapping of two Missouri boys. We know that the older boy, Shawn Hornbeck, had not attended school in the 4 ½ years during which he was held captive. I believe that it is all of our responsibilities to alert the appropriate authorities if we believe that a child is not attending school, and I wonder if there might not have been a different outcome for Shawn if someone had thought to report his “truancy” to the proper authorities.

Charles J. Hynes - Kings County District Attorney - Brooklyn, New York