Regional Office of Education reports three federally impacted grants and rising truancy interventions

A representative of the Regional Office of Education briefed the Peoria County Board that three federal-involved grants are currently impacted: a Department of Homeland Security school-safety grant (noted as frozen), funds under the McKinney-Vento program that support students experiencing homelessness, and an apprenticeship/internship grant administered with Illinois Central College (the county is not the fiscal agent for that grant).

The ROE representative said the office also received additional early-childhood funds and opened three new classrooms, which reduced the preschool waiting list. On attendance and truancy work, the ROE reported current case-management numbers and intervention activity: 566 active referrals, more than 3,300 home visits completed, and over 1,200 parent contacts by phone, text or email. The office said it is preparing to begin exiting students from the program who achieve a sustained attendance improvement under program rules (80% attendance for two months or more, monitored in two-week cycles).

The ROE representative also described the truancy-advisory process (held every two weeks at the Crittenton Center) and the kinds of supports offered to families, including counseling, access to a food pantry, bedding and mentoring programs.

Board members asked whether the old ROE office space could be repurposed; county staff said the space will serve as temporary office space for 18 to 24 months while other offices are remodeled, with longer-term uses to be decided through the board’s budgeting and construction-approval process.