Kids skip school, parents go to jail

Mobile, Ala. (WALA) - When children avoid the classroom, they can end up in the juvenile courtroom under the watchful eyes of Judge Edmond Naman.

"We have kids that have missed 70, 80 days. Some have never enrolled in school whatsoever,” Naman said.

Naman said after a student misses seven days of classes, the parent can be held responsible.

Depending on the circumstances, the adult can be sent in for drug treatment or even sent to jail, while the child could be taken from their custody.

"It's not about putting people in jail and doing drastic things for families; it's about turning and changing lifestyles,” Naman said.

Many parents shed tears in this courtroom, but Naman said it could lead to great benefits in the long run.

“When I see a parent that’s crying, when I see a parent in pain; that’s a good thing because that shows their life is in a place where they have to make changes,” he said.

The juvenile judge said Mobile County currently has around 1,100 children on probation, and roughly 92 percent of those come from single parent homes.

“When we have a first or second grader that’s doing poorly in school, we’re able to catch that before they get further on in their academic career and so far behind that we set them up for failure. [Their 17 ^th birthday] rolls around and they drop out of school,” Naman said.

Naman said he easily has to handle cases of around 200 school children a week.

Sometimes the rulings are tough, but he said if his decision changes the family's future, it's all worth it.

"If we can get into that family early, we can affect change not only in the life of that one child but in all of their younger siblings and turn that family around and make them productive again,” Naman said.