Truancy

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Hours

8:30 am-5:00 pm
Monday-Friday
While school is in session

Truancy is part of the Juvenile Justice Services program.

Partnership Against City Truancy

Early in 2001, PAL was asked to collaborate with the New York and Queens District Attorney's offices, the New York City Department of Education, and the New York City Police Department in an effort to prevent truancy. PAL joined the PACT program and is currently operating truancy centers in Manhattan and Queens.

Truancy is a first sign of trouble, a first sign that a young person is giving up and losing his or her way. For this reason, truancy is much more than simply a youth not attending school. A focus must be placed on the challenges that a youth and his or her family may be facing which result in that youth not attending school. Truancy has become a major problem in New York City and throughout the country. Combating truancy can be accomplished by communities working together to provide children, adolescents, and their families with assistance to move forward in life. Truancy has a negative effect on students, parents, families, schools and communities. Students with attendance problems tend to do poorly in school and often drop out. More alarming are studies that show that youth with chronic truancy tend to have low self-esteem and are more likely to engage in criminal activities, become involved with gangs and use drugs and alcohol.

PACT centers are operational 8:30am until 5:00pm, Monday through Friday while school is in session. Police officers, after determining that a student is truant, escort the student to a designated PACT center. The student's school may be called and parents or guardians are contacted to inform them of the incident. A student may only leave the center in the company of a parent, designated guardian, or NYPD School Safety Agent. DOE attendance teachers and PAL social workers or case managers are available to counsel students and their parents, make appropriate referrals, provide resources, and conduct follow-up services.

Goals of PACT
  • Decrease truancy
  • Reduce crime and youth victimization, and improve quality of life.
  • Encourage youth involvement in positive extracurricular activities.
  • Provide students and parents with additional resources.
PAL Truancy Sites 
PAL Truancy Sites

Uptown/ PAL Harlem Center 
441 Manhattan Ave. New York, NY 10026
Tel: +1 212 678 0648 / Fax: +1 212 678 0645

Director of Juvenile Justice & Re-Entry Services: Bobby Ferazi