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Court Unified Truancy Suppression Program (Phoenix, AZ) The Court Unified Truancy Suppression Program (CUTS), operating out of Maricopa County, Arizona, is administered by the division of community services under the direction of the Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department. CUTS is designed to work with truant youth through community-based interventions rather than referring them to juvenile court as status offenders. Once probation considers a school to be eligible for the program, a CUTS officer (one of nine probation officers exclusively dedicated to the program) is assigned to the school. All parents are then sent a uniform introductory letter informing them about the implementation of the CUTS program. Under the CUTS protocol, if a child incurs three unexcused absences, the school sends a warning letter to the parents and convenes a meeting to attempt to identify the source of the truancy problem. If the pattern of absences continues after the school intervention, the school issues a truancy citation. The citation sets an initial hearing date to take place within two weeks of its issuance. The hearing is conducted by the CUTS officer on school premises—it is not judicial in nature but is rather a diversion hearing. In addition to the CUTS officer, school personnel (e.g., an administrator or counselor), the child, and the parents attend the hearing. Based on the hearing, members of the family are linked to services—such as counseling, education classes, and substance abuse treatment—in accordance with the specific needs presented. In addition to the service component, children will be assigned “consequences” that must be completed within 30 to 60 days of the hearing. Consequences are designed to hold the child and parent accountable for the truancy and can include tutoring sessions, work hours, writing an essay, or attending a class. If the child fails to complete the assigned consequences or if the child or family fails to comply with the service component of the program, the case may be referred to court. Alternatively, if the probation officer finds that the non-compliant behavior does not warrant court intervention, the case may be closed with the potential to be reopened if the child is subsequently referred to the program. Additionally, if the student is old enough, his or her driver’s license may be suspended. The CUTS program has proven to be highly successful at addressing the issues underlying truant behavior and diverting cases away from juvenile court. In the year 2000, 74 percent of the students participating in CUTS completed their assigned consequences and improved their attendance during the program period. School administrators found that 97 percent of students regularly attended school after enrollment in the program and that four-year graduation rates increased by 14 percent. Probation officers estimate that less than five percent of CUTS cases were ultimately referred to the juvenile court. Notably, the number of drug offenses generally declined in schools in which the CUTS program was operating and was significantly lower than the number of drug offenses reported in schools that did not host the CUTS program.
