Politics & Government
City Of San Antonio: D6 Councilwoman Commends The City Council's Steps To Help Children Recover Lost Ground To The COVID Pandemic
The $380,559.35 grant will fund resources and six positions in the City's Juvenile Court.
Thursday, March 3, 2022
CONTACT: Victor Landa, 210-884-3429
Victor.landa@sanantonio.gov
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SAN ANTONIO (March 3, 2022) –The San Antonio City Council today took a decisive step to help schools across the city recover ground lost to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council unanimously voted in favor of an ordinance approving the submission of a grant and accepting funds for the Truancy Intervention and Prevention Program from the Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division.
The $380,559.35 grant will fund resources and six positions in the City’s Juvenile Court.
“Grants for programs like truancy prevention can help provide opportunities for at-risk youth and their families to be contacted by case managers,” said Councilwoman Cabello Havrda. “But beyond that, this is one of the rare occasions when city government can have a direct influence on education.”
Recent media reports have focused on the high number of children who have not returned to in-person classes or were unaccounted for during the pandemic’s remote learning efforts. The grant will help lessen that effect by using the municipal court system to bring those missing students back to their classrooms.
“We're hoping to provide more services and partnerships with the different school districts. We service nine school districts and three charter schools,” said Municipal Court Presiding Judge Carla Obledo. “We're taking a non-punitive approach because there are issues that are causing children to be truant. We're trying to find out what those issues are and help them resolve those issues so that they can concentrate on school.”
“The pandemic will have a generational effect on our children’s education,” said Councilwoman Cabello Havrda. “As we talk about the importance of mental health, isolation and long-lasting effects of COVID 19, grants like this one provide the initial outreach that children desperately need.”
This press release was produced by the City of San Antonio. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
