some communities , a single school takes on its own problem . In others , like Jacksonville , Florida , and Niagara Falls , New York , the battle is system wide . And New Jersey is about to institute a statewide system , targeting six cities with the worst truancy problems . The DeKalb County program , started in May 2006 , was designed to get children from the age of 6 to 16 back in class . If a child has 10 or more unexcused absences from school , parents are referred to an intervention program where they sign a contract agreeing to make sure their children get to class . If they fail to do that , they face the judge . According the county solicitor general 's office , around 300 families have gone to court so far . Watch how a Georgia mother ends up in handcuffs '' Most of the parents who are cited are charged with educational neglect , said DeKalb County Solicitor-General Robert James . Most of those charged plead guilty and get probation , he said . The probation usually involves parenting classes , counseling , and follow-up visits for progress
DECATUR , Georgia -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Police quietly wait by the front door of the small , brick suburban Atlanta home as investigators tell 48-year-old Lajuana Robinson , a mother of nine , `` I 'm going to have to put you in handcuffs . '' Investigators take a woman from her Decatur , Georgia , home after her arrest in a truancy case . She 's charged with violating her parole in a truancy case because three of her younger children have missed hundreds of days of school combined . While students have always suffered the consequences of playing hooky , parents in DeKalb County , Georgia , are facing one of the more aggressive anti-truancy programs in the country , one where punishment can include time behind bars . DeKalb 's program is one of a growing list targeting truancy in U.S. schools , said Jodi Heilbrunn , senior research and policy analyst at The National Center for School Engagement . `` Ten years ago , there were n't too many anti-truancy programs , but now they are springing up like rabbits , '' Heilbrunn said , and `` they come in many varieties . '' In