The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools are sponsoring a national conference on truancy prevention, to be held December 6–8, 2004, in Washington, DC. The conference theme is “Partnering To Prevent Truancy: A National Priority.”

Truancy is a multifaceted problem, and the conference is designed to address the needs of a wide range of organizations and individuals involved in truancy prevention efforts—including schools, law enforcement agencies, courts, service providers, community- and faith-based organizations, and state and local policymakers. Participants will learn about practical approaches to addressing truancy and related issues. The focus will be on strategies that:

• Have demonstrated effectiveness in preventing or reducing truancy.

• Adopt a comprehensive approach that addresses the many risk factors that contribute to truancy.

• Are multidisciplinary and collaborative in their implementation.

• Target underserved populations, such as minority groups, youth with disabilities, tribal youth, youth in foster care, youth with English as a second language, and youth reentering the community from the juvenile justice system.

Among the topics to be addressed are family involvement, motivating at-risk youth, alcohol and substance abuse prevention, collaboration building, staff development, and program funding and evaluation.

Registration instructions and additional information about the conference are available on OJJDP’s Web site (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ojjdp). The hotel registration deadline for the conference, which will be held at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street NW., Washington, DC 20036, is November 10, 2004.