Talking Truancy and Other Status Offenses: Strategies for Prevention and Intervention Webinar

Jon Audette is the Juvenile Division Chief Attorney for the Anoka County Attorney’s Office in Minnesota.  Jon manages a group of 8 attorneys and 7 support staff.  The main focus of the juvenile division is prosecuting cases involving children in need of protection or services, including truancies, as well as delinquency, juvenile petty and juvenile traffic offenses. Jon prosecuted criminal offenses for various county attorneys’ offices and at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office in the first part of his career.  He prosecuted everything from speeding to first-degree premeditated murder and pretty much everything in between.  He has tried over 50 jury trials and hundreds of court trials and contested hearings.  In 2002 Jon joined the Anoka County Attorney’s Office as a line attorney in the juvenile division.  He was pulled back into criminal law for a few years and did a short stint practicing in the civil division of the office, before returning to the juvenile division as manager in 2016. Jon is happily married to a judge and is the proud father and stepfather of two children, as well as a 13-year-old French Mastiff.  He enjoys singing, playing the guitar and drumming for various groups, as well as travel, trivia and word games.

Dr. Clea McNeely, MA, DrPH is a Research Professor in the College of Nursing. Her research focuses on how youth make successful transitions to adulthood. She has a particular interest in how schools can promote positive youth functioning. As part of this research agenda, she evaluates programs and policies to promote the health of young people. She is currently evaluating programs to improve school attendance. She uses multiple research methods including survey research, causal models, and qualitative methods. Her work has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute for Child Health and Development, the National Institute of Justice, the William T. Grant Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Jacobs Foundation, and many other foundations and organizations. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, she is co-author of The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development (2010, Johns Hopkins University). A free downloadable version of the book is available at http://www.jhsph.edu/adolescenthealth/.

Vienna Welch began in the field of probation in 2014 with Yavapai County (AZ) Juvenile Probation. Vienna has managed caseloads including standard, intensive, and diversion while being highly specialized and involved with trafficked youth. As a pioneer of the PRO initiative, a collaboration with SROs, JPOs and school administrators, Yavapai County has seen improved integration of resources and support systems for community youth. This significant accomplishment marks the first-ever such partnership in Yavapai County. Vienna's dedication and contributions earned her the honor of being voted Officer of the Year for Yavapai County in both 2016 and 2018. She plays a pivotal part in imparting evidence-based practices to Juvenile Court personnel and sharing her expertise in human trafficking with probation officers at the PO Academy.

David is currently a Senior Probation Officer in Cottonwood, Arizona. He's currently a Probation Resource Officer for Yavapai County (AZ) Juvenile Probation. David has been with the County since June 2011. David has supervised different caseloads including standard, intensive, drug court, and crossover youth. He has been a Defensive Tactics instructor since 2013. Prior to becoming a Juvenile Probation Officer, David worked for the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office as a Detention Officer in the Jail. He also was a Youth Pastor for a decade in Orange County and Los Angeles County. He received his bachelor’s degree from Sterling College and his master’s degree from Vanguard University of Southern California. As the PRO, David currently works with several schools in the Verde Valley area to help with decreasing truancy, addressing student behaviors, and providing support to the school resource officer, staff, students, and community. He also coaches football at Mingus Union High School.