Two OCDA employees honored for partnering with O.C. Probation to stop truancy

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Date: October 6, 2016

OCDA JUVENILE JUSTICE CENTER DDA AND PARALEGAL RECOGNIZED BY OC PROBATION DEPARTMENT CHIEF FOR THEIR WORK ON TRUANCY RESPONSE TEAM

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) Deputy District Attorney Patti Sanchez and Paralegal Eleni Savvaides were recognized by Orange County Probation Department (OCPD) Chief Steven Sentman for their work on the Truancy Response Team at the Annual Chief’s Award Ceremony. Sanchez and Savvaides are currently assigned to the Juvenile Justice Center and were recognized on Oct. 4, 2016.

DDA Sanchez has represented the OCDA on the Truancy Response Team for over nine years, and Savvaides has served for more than two years. The Truancy Response Team is a collaborative group with representatives from Community Service Programs – Mental Health Provider, FACES Parenting Class, the OCDA, OCPD, Public Defender’s Office, Social Services Agency, and various school districts. The team focuses on at-risk youth who have chronic truancy issues in Orange County schools. Over 25 school districts participate in the Truancy Response Program to provide outreach to students and their families in school and in the home, with emphasis on preventing truancy and addressing chronic truancy using the collaborative court process. Each year, over 2,000 students and their parents receive guidance, instruction, and resources to prevent and address truancy behavior.

Assistant District Attorney Carol Henson of the Juvenile Justice Center said in part, “as a result of their contributions to the program, DDA Sanchez and Paralegal Savvaides have had a meaningful impact in the lives of Orange County youth by keeping them engaged in the educational process and giving them the opportunity to fulfill their potential.”

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TONY RACKAUCKAS, District Attorney

Susan Kang Schroeder, Chief of Staff
Office: 714-347-8408
Cell: 714-292-2718

Roxi Fyad, Spokesperson
Office: 714-347-8405
Cell: 714-323-4486