FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2026
MOBILE, Alabama – As students across Mobile County return to the classroom for a new school year this week, Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood announced continued progress in reducing truancy and chronic absenteeism across Mobile County Public Schools.
During the 2025-2026 school year, Mobile County saw an additional 31% decrease in truancy and 3% decrease in chronic absenteeism from the previous school year.
Those latest numbers build on several years of progress since District Attorney Keith Blackwood reinstated the Helping Families Initiative (HFI) upon taking office. Since that time, truancy in Mobile County has decreased 66%, while chronic absenteeism has decreased 59%.
“Those numbers represent thousands of days that students are back where they belong—in the classroom,” said District Attorney Keith Blackwood. “We brought the Helping Families Initiative back because we know that getting kids to school is one of the most effective things we can do to put them on a path toward success and keep them out of the juvenile justice system.”
The Helping Families Initiative brings together the District Attorney’s Office, local schools and community partners to identify attendance problems early and work directly with students and families before those issues result in a referral to the juvenile justice system.
Rather than waiting until a student’s absenteeism reaches a crisis point, HFI focuses on identifying the underlying barriers keeping a child from school and connecting families with the accountability, intervention and resources necessary to get students back in the classroom.
“Attendance problems rarely begin in a courtroom, and our goal is to make sure they never have to end there,” Blackwood said. “When we intervene early, we have an opportunity to change the trajectory of a child’s life. A 66% reduction in truancy tells us this approach is working, but it also reminds us that we have to keep at it.”
As the 2026-2027 school year begins, the District Attorney’s Office is encouraging parents, students and the entire community to make consistent school attendance a priority.
“Showing up matters,” Blackwood said. “It matters academically, it matters socially, and it matters for the future of our community. As our students begin a new school year, our message to families is simple: Every Day Counts.”
The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office will continue working alongside Mobile County Public Schools and community partners throughout the school year to identify students early, support families and keep Mobile County students in school and on a path toward success.