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TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Shirley Turner and Loretta Weinberg that would require school districts to notify the Division of Youth and Family Services of long-term unexcused absences received final legislative approval today as it passed the Senate unanimously.

“Frequent, unexplained absences from school are one of the biggest warning signs of child neglect and abuse,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “If our schools can be more proactive in looking for these long-term, unexplained absences, we can make sure that DYFS intervenes with those families before the neglect or abuse leads to permanent harm or death. We must learn from the tragedies of the past.”

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senators Shirley Turner and Loretta Weinberg that would require school districts to notify the Division of Youth and Family Services of long-term unexcused absences was approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today.

“One of the biggest signs of child neglect and abuse is frequent absence from school,” said Senator Turner, D-Mercer. “Our schools need to be more proactive in looking for these long-term, unexplained absences so that DYFS can intervene with families before the neglect or abuse leads to permanent harm or death. We can’t undo the tragedies of the past, but we can make sure that they don’t happen again.”