Project Description
Be@School Technical Report—Summer 2015
Authors: Erin P. Sugrue, MPP, MSW, LICSW, Tim Zuel, Ph.D., LICSW,
and Traci LaLiberte, Ph.D.
During the 2013-2014 school year, there were 5,785 chronic absenteeism reports made to the Hennepin County Attorney’s office (HCAO) for students, ages 5-11 years old. Since 2010, Hennepin County’s response to chronic absenteeism across all grades has involved a multi-stage intervention model called be@school. Chronic School Absenteeism in the Elementary Grades: Contributing Factors, Interventions, and Outcomes presents the results of a year-long study that aims to increase the understanding of the nature of chronic absenteeism in the elementary grades among Hennepin County children and to evaluate one stage of the be@school model, the community case management intervention, by answering the following questions:
- What factors are related to school absenteeism for children in grades K-5 who are referred to the be@school program?
- What are the key frameworks, components, strategies, and processes that make up the community agency caseworker intervention for families with children in grades K-5?
- How do the supports and services provided by the be@school community caseworker fit with the identified factors related to school absenteeism for children in grades K-5?
- What factors are associated with family engagement in the voluntary community agency caseworker intervention?
- What is the relationship between participation in the community caseworker intervention and attendance outcomes?
