MSW student places 2nd in Case Competition

MSW student Laura Bessko placed 2nd in the annual Allegheny County Department of Human Services’ Local Government Case Competition. Her team, made of students from Pitt and CMU, addressed the increase in truancy since Covid-19 and the reality that current responses to truancy involve inequitable interventions, overlook unaddressed needs and do not effectively engage school administration in the problem. Their solution offered a universal attendance application, a risk model to consider factors such as IEP status, demographics, housing or food instability, mental health and more, and a Community Coordinator to intervene and remove barriers between the student and family to accessing necessary resources.