The Allen Superior Court received a grant for more-than $200,000 to improve its four-year-old Check and Connect program in the Juvenile Center.
Check and Connect serves students at risk of becoming high school dropouts Students are paired with mentors who monitor the students’ school performance, including behavior referrals, grades and attendance.
One of the major aims of the program is to reduce truancies. Students who chronically miss schools must be reported to law enforcement. Court officials hope the program will reduce truancies in participating schools by 10 percent or more.
Students showing signs of disengaging from school are referred to the program by school officials.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute awarded the grant which will pay for existing mentors and help place new mentors in additional schools.
Officials hope to serve 200 students in the county’s schools. Check and Connect has mentors currently placed in Fort Wayne Community and East Allen County schools. The original program was developed by the University of Minnesota in the 1990s.
