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Project Description

The Merced County Attendance Project (MerCAP) originated in community concern over the perceived high absenteeism rates among students whose families received welfare cash assistance. MerCAP was a joint effort of the county’s Human Services Agency (HSA), county schools, and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS). Undertaken to improve the school attendance of students receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the program used attendance monitoring, communication with parents, Corrective Action Plans, and a financial sanction to discourage excessive absences.

While similar programs outside of Merced County focused on high school students, including pregnant and parenting teens, MerCAP included all TANF school children ages 6 through 15, and excluded teens 16 and older. MerCAP’s attendance requirement—no more than 10 unexcused absences in any school year—was more rigorous than many other programs. In addition, the program relied primarily on the threat of sanctions and did not provide special case management services to families whose children did not attend regularly. MerCAP operated as a demonstration program for three years from June 1997 to June 2000 under a waiver from the California Department of Social Services.

As prescribed by CDSS, the evaluation had four primary objectives:
1. To determine whether MerCAP improves the school attendance and performance of children on public assistance.
2. To determine whether MerCAP has an impact on parent interaction and involvement with their children’s school.
3. To develop a qualitative understanding of the kinds of family problems underlying absenteeism, and which problems are best addressed through this kind of intervention.
4. To obtain information on the costs of operating a school attendance program.

Project duration: Jun 1997 - Apr 2002

Sites studied include Merced County,
CA

Merced County is a largely rural county, with a school-aged population that is 2/3 non-white, 3/4 eligible for free or reduced cost lunch, and 1/3 English learners. However, only 1/5 of the student population received TANF at that time.

Sample Characteristics and Sites Studied

n= 438 children aged 6-15 receiving TANF assistance.

n= 320 parents of the student sample.

Recent Findings in Brief

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