GALESBURG (AP) — School districts across Illinois are trying a variety of strategies to get truant students back in the classroom.

The Chicago Tribune reported Monday (http://trib.in/RxrJDH ) that a program in Galesburg is succeeding where Chicago has failed, reducing the number of chronically truant students. Truancy officers in Galesburg make home visits and can issue $75 tickets to parents whose children have repeated absences.

Outreach workers sometimes give a child an alarm clock or a pair of shoes. Other cases are harder to solve when there's domestic violence or mental illness involved. Galesburg outreach workers have walked into meth houses and been threatened in their efforts to get kids to school.