Deputy District Attorney Agnes Murray was recognized Thursday at the 14th Annual “Shine a Light” on Child Abuse Awards Breakfast for her work with at-risk children in San Bernardino County. The annual event, hosted by Children’s Network, is held at the end of March as a kick-off for Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month in April.
“Agnes is deserving of this award because she is improving the lives of students who might otherwise be led down the wrong path, and she deeply cares about the impact truancy has upon our community,” said supervising deputy district attorney Mary Ashley.
Murray joined the District Attorney’s Office in 1989 and is currently assigned to the truancy program, where her goals include improving school attendance for previously truant students and discouraging future truancy. She also teaches for the FLIP Academy (Fontana Leadership Intervention Program) and sits as an active member on the mentoring task force and Project Comeback for Colton Unified School District and the state School Attendance Review Board.
When necessary, Murray prosecutes the parents who, after all other voluntary efforts have been exhausted, continue to refuse to send their children to school.  This important step is taken to intervene in order to save a child from the inevitable grim path of not attending school and ultimately becoming a part of the juvenile delinquency problem.
According to Murray, her goal is to reduce the negative impacts caused by truancy and juvenile delinquency.
“It is always nice to be appreciated and recognized, but I do what I do because I want to make a difference in the lives of at-risk children,” said Murray. “I am very lucky to have supervisors who inspire me and give me the opportunity to do what I love.”