For over a decade the Truancy Task Force relied on the wonderful and generous efforts of York County volunteers. Professional donated a lot of their time before and after work, as well as during their lunch breaks. Given the generous charity of time and resources on behalf of the Truancy Task Force members, the “budget” for the Task Force never exceeded $250.

Meanwhile, in 2009, the United Way of York County launched a research project called “Stay in School” as a response to a recommendation from the YorkCounts Metro York initiative. The purpose of the project was to gather research on dropout and graduate rates in York County schools, identify why youth are dropping out of school and the best practices for keeping youth in school, and develop recommendations. One of the recommendations was to “expand the work of the York County Truancy Task Force. The community should support efforts to build and sustain the work of the Truancy Task Force and promote collaboration between Children and Youth Services and school districts to promptly address the needs of children who have unexcused absences. Assure the continuation and expansion of the collaborative efforts of educators, law enforcement, juvenile justice and probation officials, social service providers, faith-based and youth-serving agencies and physicians who work to provide a cohesive, consistent response to the issues related to truancy.”

In order to expand the work of the Truancy Task Force, Judge Uhler recognized that a staff member would need to be hired. As a member of the York County Bar Association, Judge Uhler collaborated with a few members to make the case for their help in the Truancy Task Force’s expansion. Succeeding, the York County Bar Foundation (the charitable arm of the York County Bar Association) funded a business plan to combat truancy and became the primary sponsor for hiring and housing a Director. Additional funders were the Women’s Giving Circle of the York County Community Foundation, H.M. Rehmeyer Trust, and The Donley Foundation. For the first year, the Director worked part-time on truancy prevention issues for what is now called the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative.

Part-time commitment to truancy prevention in York County was not enough. Fortunately, in 2009, the United Way launched an effort to establish priorities for use of The Community Fund. Approved in October 2009, the priorities target issues in the areas of education, income and health. In the area of education, one priority is that elementary and middle students are prepared to succeed in later grades. Unless students are attending school, they will not be successful and in most cases, drop out of school and become a burden on society. The measurable program and policy objectives of the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative align with and address the United Way of York’s Education funding priority. With truancy as a leading factor preventing children’s success in school, graduation from high school, and merger into society as productive members of society, the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative aims to assure that elementary and middle school students are prepared to succeed in later grades, and make sure that young adults make a successful transition from high school to work life, two of United Way’s priorities in Education.

While there is a lot of continued support from the York County legal community for truancy prevention, the Truancy Prevention Initiative benefits from being housed at United Way, which already is a leader in education and has other staff working in related areas. The York County Bar Foundation recognizes the significantly negative impact that truancy has on the education system and the resulting increase in crime and delinquency. Through its Foundation, the York County Bar Association has provided housing, financial support, in-kind services, networking opportunity, technical support, and other services to move the objectives of the Truancy Prevention Initiative forward and remains a partner in this effort.