Truancy Services
The first and foremost service that is offered by the Office of Social Service and Attendance is that of truancy monitoring. Currently in Harrison County there is a staff of 4.0 to address the attendance concerns of the county.
The truancy services that are offered include serving of the Compulsory Attendance forms and phone calls in conjunction with parent meetings, resource to the school and the parents, filing of juvenile petitions in circuit court and criminal complaints in magistrate court. In addition to the preliminary and adjudicatory hearings the Attendance Director also participates in all status hearing as well as the quarterly judicial reviews on all students in the court system.
Homeschooling
The Attendance Director also serves as the Homeschool Coordinator for Harrison County. This service also includes the management of all homeschool files and the monitoring of each case regarding the requirements of the law.
Families-in-Transition
This particular service is the Homeless Liaison responsibilities. The Attendance Director along with the Title I Director developed the FIT Program (Families-in-Transition) to address the needs of the students and families who find themselves homeless. This program addresses the Federal Law known as The McKinney-Vento Act but gives the services a more positive up lifting name. This service includes clothing for the homeless children if needed, tutoring services, school supplies, transportation to the school of origin, assistance in enrolling students in school as well as linkage and referral to needed health services.
Driver's License Services
This service addresses the driver's license verification procedure according to state law. In addition to the approval of the forms the office also revokes the driver's licenses in accordance with the law quarterly or more often if time allows.
Children's Apparel Program
The Children's Apparel Program (CAP) is a program that was developed with Medbrook Children's Charity. The charity donates finances to the Harrison County Board of Education for the Children's Apparel Fund. This fund is utilized to purchase needed clothing for the students of Harrison County Schools. Each school has a volunteer representative responsible for the identification of the student's needs and the purchasing of the clothing.