Peoria County program reports 529 active students, cites county funding and grant timing as key to staffing

A program representative updated the Peoria County Board on the county-funded truancy intervention program, saying the program’s mission is to "remove any possible barrier" that prevents students and families from attending school and to help them return to class.

The presenter said the program primarily serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade and that, at the end of the most recent school year, 529 students remained active on caseloads while 805 students had been exited after reaching the program’s attendance threshold. She said exit decisions are tied to students reaching an 80% or higher attendance average.

The presenter described outreach work by student support specialists, saying specialists conduct home visits for every referred student and maintain frequent family contacts. She reported the team completed 6,155 home and school visits since July 14 of the prior year and stated the team made "3,42" student and parent contacts (the transcript number is incomplete and is reported here as stated in the record).

Summer engagement included small-group learning activities, field trips and distributed care packages with toiletries and snacks. The presenter said the program coordinates with schools for monthly attendance incentives and with community partners, including backpack distributions run with the Peoria Afro-American Firefighters Association and outreach through PPS schools to locate students with prior attendance problems. Specialists are kept reachable for families year-round via direct contact numbers.

On funding, the presenter reviewed how county and grant calendars interact. She said the county stepped in with funding when the state truancy grant lapsed several years ago and that the county agreement calls for any returned state grant funds to be used to offset personnel costs supported by county funds. She described a $400,000 county commitment and said the program expected to offset $290,000 of that; the presenter also cited about an $111,000 funding difference tied to the recent state grant award and noted fiscal-year timing (county vs. state vs. federal) affects invoicing and when salary costs are recorded.

A board member asked whether the county investment added two or three caseworkers; presenters and other members confirmed staffing increased and that moving staff to year-round pay and higher wages helped recruit more experienced, full-time personnel. One board member characterized the investment as "the best money we've ever spent" during their time on the board.

The presenter said staff will continue data reporting to the Illinois State Board of Education and will carry the 529 active cases into the next school year while pursuing professional development for specialists.

The board did not take formal action on funding during the recorded segments; the presenter offered to answer further questions and the board expressed appreciation for the work.