Michael Toy

Date of Award

3-1-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Abstract

The Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) currently holds the highest truancy rate in Alameda County, California. This paper examines the effectiveness of implementing a case management program through the local community based organization (CBO), Eden Youth and Family Center. The program would consist of health care services, gang intervention, educational advocacy, employment opportunities, and mentoring, to help improve the truancy rate by five percent or more. The target population of youth for this project will be both male and female students, ages 14 through 18. Primary data was collected from Alameda County Deputy Probation Officers, Child Welfare Attendance Outreach Workers, Eden Youth and Family Center Case Managers, gang intervention specialists, and an educational advocate. This researcher is currently employed by the Alameda County Probation Department as a Deputy Probation Officer, and is assigned to the Juvenile Field Services Division, with a caseload centered in the Hayward area. While attending San Jose State University, and working on earning an Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice, this researcher was an intern for the San Jose Police Department, working in the community policing program titled T.A.B.S. which stands for Truancy Abatement Burglary Suppression. This unit of police officers patrols the city in an effort to find truant students, and brings them back to their home school. In 2003, the police department mentioned a decrease in daytime burglaries since the program’s inception. As seen with the SJPD example, San Jose was able to decrease crime by a large percentage just by decreasing truancy. Truancy is a problem not only for the police department, but also the city’s citizens.

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