Albany County committee authorizes MOU with Albany Police to restart truancy abatement program

The committee authorized an intermunicipal agreement with the Albany Police Department to reinstate a truancy abatement program intended to identify and engage students who are chronically absent from school.

Acting Commissioner Ward told the committee the department "respectfully requests to enter into an inter inter municipal agreement with the Albany Police Department to reinstate the truancy abatement program," describing it as "a collaborative initiative designed to identify and engage youth who are chronically absent from school." Ward said the program would link county caseworkers with school resource officers and local partners to refer families to educational, social and behavioral-health services.

The department listed several partner organizations it expects to use for referrals and services, naming Together for Youth, Parsons and St. Anne's and saying behavioral-health partnerships could include Carson Northern Rivers; parenting and educational supports might come via Cornell Cooperative Extension. Ward said cases would be evaluated individually by a case-review committee made up of DCYF, probation, participating agencies and the school district, and that assigned caseworkers would check in with families "daily, weekly, monthly as as needed" depending on the case.

Committee members sought operational details before approving the agreement. Ms. Lockhart pressed for which agencies would deliver services and how the program would ensure daily attendance checks; Ward said caseworkers already in DCYF would carry the caseload and that the MOU specifically enables information-sharing with APD and its SRO officers in schools. Mr. Burdoff and others pressed whether the school would notify the program when absences occur; Ward said the agreement is one piece of a larger program being built with the school district and probation and that additional MOUs with those partners are expected.

Multiple legislators asked about costs; Ward said the item is at "no cost to the county," explaining that the work would be performed by existing department caseworkers and that early intervention could reduce longer-term child-welfare costs. Members also asked how many families would be served; Ward said she did not have a current estimate but would provide historical numbers from the prior program.

Several members noted the program's prior success. Ward and others said a version of the program ran through the 2010s and ended around 2019, and that DCYF involvement now should strengthen outreach because APD is currently short-staffed. After discussion the motion to approve the MOU passed on a voice vote.

The committee directed staff to return additional details on daily monitoring procedures, expected caseloads, and the planned larger MOU that will include probation and the school district.