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Financial and Human Costs of Treatment or Failure to Provide Treatment

Mary QuinnJeffrey Poirier

American Institutes for Research National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice (EDJJ)

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Why Prevention?An 18 year old is five times more likely to be arrested for a property crime than a 35 year oldIn 1997, 15-19 year olds comprised 7% of the overall population but 1 out 5 arrests for violent offenses and 1 out of 3 property crime arrestsOverall, teenagers are responsible for 20-30% of all crime

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1999

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Theories

School Failure Susceptibility Differential TreatmentMeta Cognitive

Murray, 1977; Post, 1981

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What are we preventing?

Left to progress without appropriate treatment, these children with behavior disorders are at heightened risk for: Serious mental health problems; Substance abuse; Educational failure, including truancy and

delinquency; and Encounters with the juvenile justice system.

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Serious Mental Health Problems/ Substance Abuse

Research supports that children with mental health problems are at risk for Unemployment or underemployment In unhealthy relationships, including broken

marriages Other mental problems (e.g.,

schizophrenia, hyperactivity, obsessional disorders, depression, substance abuse)

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Serious Mental Health Problems/ Substance Abuse (cont.)Children with mental health problems

are often un- or under-served 20% of children have DSM disorders 10% of children have DSM disorders that

significantly impair their functioning 5% of children receive care for mental

health problems 1-2% receive services in specialty

settings (Castello, Burns, Argold, & Leaf, 1993)

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Educational Failure Risks

51.4% of children EB/D dropped out of school, as compared to the national average of 10.7% of childrenUnemployment rates for high school drop outs is 60% higher than graduatesWhen adults without high school degrees, over 30% earn less than the official poverty rate

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Juvenile Justice System

Research has found that youth with EB/D are disproportionately involved with the juvenile justice system 8% of all those in facilities have SLD,

accounting for 42% of those with disabilities

8% of all those in facilities have EB/D, accounting for 40% of those with disabilities

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Why examine costs and benefits?

Program evaluation

Influence policymakers and global change

Decreased funding requires the more efficient and prudent use of allocated funds

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Cost of Substance Abuse

Substance abuse is costly: “Every sector of society spends hefty sums of

money shoveling up the wreckage of substance abuse and addiction.”

In 1998 more than 13% of state budgets ($81.3 billion) was spent on substance abuse

Of this amount, only 3.7 cents of each state dollar was spent on prevention or researchSource: CASA, Columbia University, 2001

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Cost of Substance Abuse

Two-thirds of juvenile justice costs are related to youth substance abuseSource: CASA, Columbia University, 2001

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Costs of Delinquency

Important to examine costs as a consequence of non-prevention of BD2.4 million juvenile arrests in 2000 (Snyder, 2002)Juveniles accounted for 9% (murders) to 33% (burglaries) of all arrests for various types of crime in 2000

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Types of CostsJuvenile justice/correctionsLost property and wagesMedical and psychological expensesDecreased productivityPain and sufferingDecreased quality of life/societal well-being (e.g., fear of crime, changing lifestyle due to risk of victimization)

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Since expenditures allocated to delinquency-related costs, fewer resources are available for education/other government services

Opportunity Costs

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Who incurs these costs?

VictimsGovernment agenciesTaxpayersSocietyDelinquent youthFamilies

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Victimization Costs1 in 4 U.S. households victimizedCrime victims lost $17.6 billion in direct costs in 1992 (includes losses from property theft/damage, cash losses, medical expenses, and amount of pay lost because of injury/activities related to the crime)Loss of life is not included in this estimate

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994

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Expenditures for the Criminal and Civil Justice System

Total: $147 billion in 1999 (police protection, corrections, and judicial/legal activities)309% increase from 1982-1999Local government funded half of these expenses (note: local government funded 44% of education costs in 1999)Source: U.S. Department of Justice, 1999

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Expenditures for the Criminal and Civil Justice System

States contributed another 39% ($4.4 billion in 2000)Source: CASA, 2002

Criminal and civil justice expenditures comprised 7.7% of all state and local expendituresSource: U.S. Department of Justice, 1999

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Costs of Juvenile Crime

Cost of juvenile crime: Victim costs: $62,000-$250,000

Criminal justice: $21,000-$84,000 Total: $83,000-$335,000

For every 10 crimes committed, only one is caught

Chronic juvenile offenders are very likely to become involved in the adult system

Source: Cohen, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 1998

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Cost-Benefits of Effective Prevention and InterventionSource: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 2001

Program Net Cost per Participant

Taxpayer Savings

Taxpayer Savings and Victim Benefits

Benefit-to-Cost Ratio

Early Childhood Education for Disadvantaged Youth

$8,936 -$4,754 $6,972 $1.78

Quantum Opportunities Program

$18,964 -$8,855 $16,428 $1.87

Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care

$2,052 $21,836 $87,622 $43.70

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ConclusionPrevention/intervention programs for at-risk youth will not eliminate but can reduce juvenile crime, bringing net benefits to both society and the juvenile Have a long-term vision when considering the costs of prevention programsConsider the impact of incarceration on juvenile offenders and youth with BD