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District attorney asks Enterprise City Schools to partner on attendance program
Summary
A representative of the district attorney's office asked the Enterprise City Schools board to partner on the Helping Families Initiative, proposing a locally funded caseworker paid pro rata by participating school systems and offering a draft agreement for the board to review at its next meeting.
The district attorney's office urged the Enterprise City Schools board on June 9 to join the Helping Families Initiative, a program the presenter said was created in 2003 to reduce truancy by adding a caseworker who will work with families and schools instead of moving immediately to court.
"The Helping Families Initiative was started back in 2003," the district attorney told the board, adding that the program pairs the DA's office with local school systems to improve attendance and student outcomes. He said the program is intended to be "a way to hopefully have a positive interaction with the family" and to provide resources such as home visits and referrals to community services.
The presenter said the program uses a North Carolina family assessment tool to evaluate needs and that the county's share of the initiative would be funded in part from the state Education Trust Fund with participating school systems paying salary and benefit costs on a pro rata basis. He said one applicant for the caseworker position has accepted and is expected to begin in a few weeks.
The presenter described statewide context, saying the program operates in roughly 22 judicial circuits and about 50 school systems and that the state appropriated approximately $3.3 million for the program statewide. He told the board he planned to present a draft memorandum of understanding and ask for a local funding commitment at the district's second meeting this month so the district attorney's office and the board's attorney can review terms before any vote.
Board members asked operational questions about the role and scope of the new employee; the presenter confirmed the caseworker would be in the field multiple days per week, conduct assessments and coordinate with school staff. "This will add some relief to that, but also a little weight because it's not coming from the school," he said, arguing that outreach from the DA's office may carry more weight with some families.
The matter was presented as an item the board will consider at its next meeting; no formal vote on a local funding commitment was recorded on June 9.
