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.
The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) has put together the report Chronic School Absenteeism in the Elementary Grades: Contributing Factors, Interventions, and Outcomes to present 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.