HOUSE APPROVES $150,000 FOR BARRON COUNTY ANTI-TRUANCY INITIATIVE

Funds Intended To Help Continue Restorative Justice’s Effort To Keep Kids In School

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seventh District Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI) announced today that the U.S. House of Representatives has approved his request for $150,000 in next year’s budget for the Department of Justice to help Barron County Restorative Justice Programs, Inc. continue their Truancy Initiative Program which works to decrease the number of youth entering into the juvenile justice system as a result of habitual truancy. 

“Habitual truancy in students is most often caused by problems outside the school-house.  The Truancy Initiative, with its community outreach workers, is able to work with at-risk kids and their families to make a real difference in the underlying reasons for truancy and problems at school,” said Obey, the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.  “That’s why I requested these funds to help Restorative Justice continue to work with state and local government and our educators to keep our kids safe and in school, and I’m glad the House agreed.”

“The appropriations bill for the Department of Justice must still be approved by the Senate and signed by the President before it becomes law, but having these funds included in the House passed bill means that a major hurdle has been cleared,” Obey added.

Working in partnership with the Barron, Cameron, Chetek, Turtle Lake, Cumberland, and Rice Lake School Districts and the Barron County Department of Health and Human Services, Barron County Restorative Justice’s Truancy Initiative Program is a voluntary, early intervention program intended to assist students and families in addressing truant behavior and preventing it from escalating into habitual truancy.  The program’s outreach workers help families access community resources, provide parental support, offer a bridge into the school system and act as an advocate for students and their families while attempting to coordinate resources to address their needs.

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