Local law enforcement seeking to keep children in school will be getting a boost next year with a funding increase for a key truancy program that looks at the root causes of kids missing school.

While multiple concerns were raised about the 21-year-old Helping Families Initiative in a recent state report, including its oversight and the amount of money spent on administrative costs, supporters of the program say it is needed.

“To my knowledge, never in our state’s history or our country’s history, and coming out of COVID, has it been more important to battle and fight truancy than it is today,” Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said. “The number of children not going to school is staggering in some places. And so having the district attorneys involved and engaged and holding parents accountable, and sometimes even before a judge, is very important.