Contact: Maridith Geuder
Money spent to develop effective intervention programs for high-risk youth offenders can change behaviors and, in the long run, save money for state and local governments.
That was among findings in a cost-benefit comparison study of several current state programs completed recently by a three-person interdisciplinary team of Mississippi State University researchers. The complete report was featured in the April issue of Crime & Delinquency, an international sociology journal.
With the support of a National Institute on Drug Abuse grant, MSU's Angela A. Robertson, Paul W. Grimes and Kevin E. Rogers followed nearly 300 offenders who had been referred to youth courts for criminal activity and substance abuse. Included were participants in Forrest, Lowndes and Madison counties, each of which uses a distinctive treatment approach.
Over 18 months, the researchers collected a variety of data to help answer a primary question: Are more expensive experimental treatments cost effective? The answer: during the survey period, participation in behavioral intervention programs resulted in savings of nearly $3,000 per participant in justice system expenses.
"Our study shows that targeting high-risk offenders ultimately can save money," Robertson said. Treatments involving counseling and cognitive training--identifying problems, learning negotiation, persuasion and anger management skills, among others--are effective at preventing repeat offenses, she added.
"While this approach is more expensive on the front end, it has the effect of keeping youth out of jail and ensuring long-term cost savings," said Robertson, a sociologist and research scientist at MSU's Social Science Research Center.
Her research colleagues, Grimes and Rogers, are economists in the College of Business and Industry. Grimes is a professor and head of the finance and economics department; Rogers, an assistant professor in the department.
Their cost-benefit model took into account differences such as age, gender, and economic background, as well as estimates for differences in personality traits, behavior and home environment.
Robertson said other traditional intervention programs involve court-ordered probation and intensive supervision and monitoring. Participants in these two programs, however, "are twice as likely to be arrested in the 12 months following intervention than those who participated in behavioral treatment."
Robertson said the Mississippi State survey is designed to provide objective information for policymakers involved in the development of youth offender programs.
"We should be targeting high-risk offenders with our scarce resources," she observed. "The behavioral approach may be more expensive, but it works."
For more information on the MSU report, telephone Robertson at (662) 325-7797.