The School Attendance Demonstration Project 

Initiative Description: Teens were assessed for service needs at the orientation, and if appropriate, they were assigned a case manager. The case manager acted as a service broker, advocate, and attendance monitor. The service approach is familycentered and used individual and group intervention, combined with community resources, to address reasons why teens may not be attending school.

Study Results: 3-9% More of the experimental group of students—those who were notified to be present at an orientation for services because of their record of less than 80 percent school attendance—met the attendance rule than did students in the control group in any given month after baseline.

Reference: Jones, L. P., Harris, R., & Finnegan, D. (2002). School Attendance Demonstration Project: An Evaluation of a Program to Motivate Public Assistance Teens to Attend and Complete School in an Urban School District. Research On Social Work Practice, 12(2), 222-237. doi:10.1177/104973150201200202

Level of Evidence: Very Good