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Sawyer County eyes earlier truancy intervention after new diversion worker starts
Summary
The county’s Children, Youth and Family Services staff described a new truancy diversion worker, plans to catch truancy earlier than the current 10-day-school-drop policy, and work with contractors to re-engage students and families.
Sawyer County Health and Human Services staff told the board June 10 they are changing how they handle school truancy after hiring a new truancy diversion worker and partnering with a contracted recovery program to re-enroll youth.
The change matters because current practice automatically drops students from school after 10 consecutive unexcused absences, a policy staff said they want to catch earlier to avoid long-term disengagement and increased out-of-home costs.
Julia, Children, Youth and Family Services staff, said the department started the year addressing “10 day drops” and that the new truancy diversion worker, Melinda Hoyos, began the position in mid‑June. Julia said staff used their contracted partner Sirona Recovery to work cases while the county lacked a full-time truancy worker; that effort helped re-enroll seven students into school programs or alternatives such as Challenge Academy, Job Corps, or virtual school.
Julia explained the county monitors these students for one year after re-enrollment. She corrected an earlier count during the meeting, saying, “We've completed 6, not 7. My apologies. And we have 7 that we still need to schedule intakes on,” and said a new report will break down referral sources, ages and outcomes.
Staff described barriers to earlier intervention: inconsistent parental engagement, parental substance-use disorders, and scheduling challenges that left some parents unreachable. “A lot of our parents that we work with are significantly addicted to drugs and alcohol, where it's very hard for them to make their children that main priority,” Julia said.
Board members asked how the county handles students dropped after 10 days. Staff said they are advocating to change the policy and intend to catch cases earlier—potentially at five days—through a centralized referral process and improved coordination with schools and community partners.
Staff said they will return next month with a more detailed breakdown of out-of-home costs tied to delinquency and juvenile protection cases, and with projections for youth who may age into adult services.
