22 May OVM Tackles Truancy
Truancy, defined as staying away from school without a valid reason, has become a growing concern in Kansas. Since 2019, the number of chronically truant students has increased significantly, a trend visible in McPherson County schools.
When schools exhaust their options, they often refer truancy cases to the McPherson County attorney’s office. From there, authorities can pursue penalties for the student and their parents or seek alternative solutions aimed at getting the student back in the classroom.
One such solution involves Offender/Victim Ministries (OVM), a nonprofit based in Newton. OVM runs a program specifically designed to help students ages 13 to 16 get back into compliance with Kansas attendance laws.
The process starts with separate interviews of both the student and their parents. This helps OVM case managers understand the underlying causes of chronic absences.
Next, a Neighborhood Accountability Board (NAB) is assembled. The board typically includes a parent, a school staff member, and a trained community volunteer provided by OVM. These volunteers, often former teachers themselves, act as neutral facilitators who help build trust and communicate with the student.
“Usually when we get them to the table, it’s about rebuilding trust,” Kathy Neufeld-Dunn OVM’s Director of Community Justice Program said, “The reality is, by the time we get involved, trust has already been lost between all parties.”
Together, the group writes and signs a restorative agreement that outlines what each party will do to support the student’s return to school.
In one 2024 case, a 15-year-old girl missed six of the first eight days of school. During her interview, she shared that depression made it difficult to get out of bed, and rather than arrive late, she chose not to attend at all. As part of the agreement, the school allowed her to arrive by 9:30 a.m. without being marked absent. She also began taking medication shortly after the intervention. The family, previously at a loss, found new hope through the NAB process.
In 2024, OVM received an $8,100 grant through the Mastermind McPherson County initiative to hire a dedicated staff member for local cases. With that hire, OVM was able to clear a backlog and speed up its response to new referrals.
“We know the longer these truancy cases drag on, the worse it gets for students academically,” Neufeld-Dunn said. “The harder it is for them to turn things around.”
Neufeld-Dunn also noted that after the pandemic-related surge in absences, things are beginning to return to normal.
“Our trend is actually going down,” she said. “The status quo is slowly returning after the spike we saw in 2020.”
During the 2024–25 school year, OVM handled 13 truancy cases across McPherson County, serving the Canton-Galva, Inman, Little River-Windom, McPherson, and Smoky Valley school districts.