What is the Price of Failure?

1. What is the Price of Failure? A Comparative Analysis of Prevention and Delinquency Mary Magee Quinn and Jeffrey Poirier, American Institutes for Research National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice (EDJJ)

2. Overview • The role of school-based prevention in meeting the needs of at-risk youth • The importance of ensuring at-risk youth are educated • The financial and social costs of not preventing juvenile/adult crime • The impact of the justice system on juvenile offenders and their families • The long-term benefits and savings of reduced delinquency WWW.EDJJ.ORG

3. Why Prevention? • An 18 year old is five times more likely to be arrested for a property crime than a 35 year old • In 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 arrests • Overall, teenagers are responsible for 20-30% of all crime Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1999 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

4. Levels of Prevention Tertiary Secondary Primary WWW.EDJJ.ORG

5. Primary Prevention • Strategies applied to intact groups or populations, such as a school-wide discipline plan used to help all students in a school meet behavioral and academic expectations • Focuses on avoiding the initial occurrence of a problem WWW.EDJJ.ORG

6. Reading Programs • Youth in Correctional Facilities • Median age 15.5 years • 9th grade (placement) • 4th grade reading level (mean) • More than 1/3 read below 4th grade WWW.EDJJ.ORG

7. Adult Literacy WWW.EDJJ.ORG

8. Reading Programs • Prison-based literacy programs are significantly more effective than boot camps or shock incarceration • The more education prisoners receives, the less likely they are to be re-arrested or re-imprisoned WWW.EDJJ.ORG

9. Literacy • Quality reading programs can reduce recidivism by 20%. • Probationers had significantly lower re-arrest rates (35% vs. 46%) • Recipients of GED had significantly lower re-arrest rates (24% vs. 46%) • Inmates with 2 years of college (10% vs. 60%) WWW.EDJJ.ORG

10. Education Level WWW.EDJJ.ORG

11. Levels of Prevention Tertiary Secondary Primary WWW.EDJJ.ORG

12. Secondary Prevention • Focus on preventing repeated occurrences of problem behavior through more targeted interventions • Efforts provide additional support when universal preventative efforts are not sufficient WWW.EDJJ.ORG

13. Secondary Prevention • Example: students who have more than one disciplinary referral in a given month for fighting may be provided with special instruction in conflict resolution or social skills WWW.EDJJ.ORG

14. High/Scope Preschool Programs • Benefits • fewer acts of misconduct • higher grade point averages • higher rates of employment • lower rates of welfare dependence WWW.EDJJ.ORG

15. High/Scope Preschool Programs • Costs • $39,278 per child • $964 increased need for funds for secondary education programs • Savings • reduced need for special education • reduced crime rate • $6,495 lifetime tax payments WWW.EDJJ.ORG

16. Tertiary Prevention • Most intensive level of support and intervention • Attempts to reduce the impact of a condition or problem on the individual's ability to function in the least restrictive setting WWW.EDJJ.ORG

17. Tertiary Prevention • Example: the needs of students identified as having an emotional/behavioral disability are addressed through special education services and behavior intervention plans so that they may benefit from the educational program • Includes outside agency support WWW.EDJJ.ORG

18. Home Visit Programs • Costs • $2700/year from third trimester through age 2 • $6000/year for day care and early childhood education • Benefits • 11 serious crimes prevented per million dollars spent Source: RAND, 1996 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

19. Parent Training • Costs • $500/year per family for instruction and supplies • $2500/year per family for program management • Benefits • 157 serious crimes prevented per million dollars spent Source: RAND, 1996 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

20. High School Graduation • Adult Inmates in State Facilities • 70% have not completed high school • 46% have had some high school • 16.4 % have had no high school at all Source: U.S. Department of Justice, 1996 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

21. Graduation Incentives • Costs • $3130/year for 4 years for each youth • Benefits • 258 serious crimes prevented per million dollars spent on incentives Source: RAND, 1996 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

22. Delinquent Programs • Costs • $10,000/year per youth (conservative estimate) • Benefits • 72 serious crimes prevented per million dollars spent WWW.EDJJ.ORG

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24. Students with Disabilities • The arrest rate among high school dropouts with disabilities was 56%, compared with 16% among graduates, and 10% among those who "aged out" of school. • Among dropouts with serious emotional disturbances, the arrest rate was 73% three to five years after secondary school Source: SRI International, 1992 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

25. The Costs of Crime for Communities and Victims • Lost property and wages • Medical and psychological expenses • Decreased productivity • Pain and suffering • Decreased quality of life/societal well-being (e.g., fear of crime, changing lifestyle due to risk of victimization) WWW.EDJJ.ORG

26. The Costs of Crime for Communities and Victims • Incarceration (prisons/correctional facilities) • Increased demand for criminal/civil justice services • Opportunity costs: since greater percentage of government expenditures must be dedicated to crime-related costs, fewer resources are available for education/other government services WWW.EDJJ.ORG

27. Who incurs these costs? • Crime victims • Government agencies • Taxpayers • Society WWW.EDJJ.ORG

28. Cost of Victimization • 23% of all U.S. households victimized • Crime 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) • Crimes included: attempts and completed offenses of rape, robbery, assault, personal and household theft, burglary, and motor vehicle theft Source: U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1994 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

29. Expenditures for the Criminal and Civil Justice System • Total: $147 billion in 1999 (police protection, corrections, and judicial/legal activities) • 309% increase from 1982-1999 • Local government funded half of these expenses (note: local government funded 44% of education costs in 1999) Source: U.S. Department of Justice, 1999 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

30. Expenditures for the Criminal and Civil Justice System • States contributed another 39% • Criminal and civil justice expenditures comprised 7.7% of all state and local expenditures Source: U.S. Department of Justice, 1999 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

31. Costs of Juvenile Crime • A life of crime costs society $1.5-$1.8 million • 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 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

32. Costs of Dropping Out • In 1991, annual cost of providing for youth who fail to complete high school and their families: $76 billion • Lost wage productivity: $300,000 Source: Joint Economic Committee, 1991 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

33. Cost of Effective Prevention and InterventionSource: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, 2001 WWW.EDJJ.ORG

34. The Costs of Crime for Juvenile Offenders • Separation and isolation • In correctional settings: • Negative behaviors are often reinforced • Higher rates of sexual victimization and suicide • For youth with cognitive disabilities, it is difficult to un-learn the prison experience • Lack of special education services and an absence of skill-based programming WWW.EDJJ.ORG

35. The Costs of Crime for Juvenile Offenders • For youth who are sent to adult facilities, there are higher rates of re-offending and the number of serious crimes committed • More youth today are being referred to correctional settings for behaviors that are mental health related • Competing missions within the juvenile justice system (protection v. rehabilitation) • The juvenile court is not familiar with the impact of mental health/cognitive disabilities on behaviors WWW.EDJJ.ORG

36. The Cost of Ignoring Families • Family involvement (surrogates, extended family, etc.) and stability are critical to the success of prevention and corrections programs • The family will be a part of the youth’s life long after the professionals leave • When parents do not have the skills/knowledge to advocate for their child’s learning/mental health needs, their children are more likely to drop out of school and become involved in the justice system WWW.EDJJ.ORG

37. The Cost of Ignoring Families • Families are seen as the problem and not part of the solution, leading to increased reliance on foster care and costly, ineffective multiple placements • Families become distrustful of the systems that have failed their children often for many years • The rate of recidivism is impacted by the degree to which youthful offenders have a stable adult in their lives WWW.EDJJ.ORG

38. Conclusion • Prevention/intervention programs for at-risk youth will not eliminate juvenile crime, but can reduce it and will bring net benefits to both society and the juvenile • Have a long-term vision when considering the costs of prevention programs • Consider the impact of incarceration on juvenile offenders and the role of families WWW.EDJJ.ORG