Van Buren County Sheriff Dale Gribler and Van Buren Intermediate School District Superintendent Jeff Mills recently reported that a partnership formed two years ago to assist local school districts with truancy and incorrigibility issues, is beginning to show positive results.

The local schools filed 254 truancy/or incorrigibility referrals with the sheriff's office this year, compared to 213 in the 2006-2007 school year. The positive side of this increase is that fewer cases required court intervention.

During the 2006-2007 school year, 27 parents and 46 students entered the court system compared to 24 parents and 40 students this past year.  The percentage of successful interventions increased from around 70 percent the first year to nearly 78 percent this school year.

Next year's goal is to continue increasing the number of successful contacts and further reduce the need for court action.

Gribler stated that ongoing feedback from school administrators indicates having an officer dedicated to the intermediate school district and available to the county's school districts continues to have a positive impact on the overall attendance, and gives schools another tool to use in correcting inappropriate behavior

Source: Paw Paw Courier Leader, 6.23.08