Minn-LInk recently published a policy brief titled, “Evaluation of Ramsey County’s Truancy Intervention Programs: Policy implications for Court Diversion Programs“, which evaluated the truancy programs of Ramsey County Minnesota. The team behind the evaluation was headed by Professor Clea McNeely. The brief, which is based on four years of research, indicated a potential racial disparity in truancy enforcement. A disproportionately larger number of absences of minority students were marked unexcused when compared with the absences of their classmates.
Dr. McNeely will be continuing her research on disparities in juvenile justice-based truancy programs with the assistance of a new grant from the Spencer Foundation.