Key Terms
Court-involved youth: Youth who are processed through the juvenile justice system but who are not ordered to a period of confinement in a residential or correctional facility. This includes populations of arrested youth, diverted youth, charged youth, adjudicated youth, and youth on probation or formal supervision.
Youth in state institutions: Youth who are confined in a residential or correctional facility when they participate in the program.
Youth post-release: Youth who are returning to the community following a period of confinement in a residential or correctional facility and who participate in the program after release to the community.
ALL |
META-ANALYSIS |
CITATIONS |
|
Benefit-Cost Summary Statistics Per Participant | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Benefits to: | ||||||
Taxpayers | $502 | Benefits minus costs | ($1,681) | |||
Participants | $1,067 | Benefit to cost ratio | $0.24 | |||
Others | $660 | Chance the program will produce | ||||
Indirect | ($1,691) | benefits greater than the costs | 47 % | |||
Total benefits | $538 | |||||
Net program cost | ($2,219) | |||||
Benefits minus cost | ($1,681) | |||||
Meta-Analysis of Program Effects | ||||||||||||
Outcomes measured | Treatment age | No. of effect sizes | Treatment N | Adjusted effect sizes(ES) and standard errors(SE) used in the benefit - cost analysis | Unadjusted effect size (random effects model) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First time ES is estimated | Second time ES is estimated | |||||||||||
ES | SE | Age | ES | SE | Age | ES | p-value | |||||
Crime Any criminal conviction according to court records, sometimes measured through charges, arrests, incarceration, or self-report. |
16 | 1 | 160 | -0.030 | 0.101 | 17 | -0.030 | 0.101 | 25 | -0.030 | 0.768 | |
Regular smoking Smoking tobacco on a regular basis. |
16 | 1 | 160 | 0.200 | 0.102 | 16 | 0.200 | 0.102 | 26 | 0.200 | 0.049 | |
Substance use disorder^ A non-specified alcohol or drug use disorder. Typically, a collection of different types of disorders reported by study authors. |
16 | 1 | 160 | -0.270 | 0.102 | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | -0.270 | 0.008 | |
Major depressive disorder Clinical diagnosis of major depression or symptoms measured on a validated scale. |
16 | 1 | 160 | -0.220 | 0.102 | 16 | 0.000 | 0.310 | 18 | -0.220 | 0.031 | |
Anxiety disorder Clinical diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (e.g., general anxiety, panic, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder) or symptoms measured on a validated scale. |
16 | 1 | 160 | -0.289 | 0.102 | 16 | -0.114 | 0.094 | 17 | -0.289 | 0.004 |
Detailed Monetary Benefit Estimates Per Participant | ||||||
Affected outcome: | Resulting benefits:1 | Benefits accrue to: | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxpayers | Participants | Others2 | Indirect3 | Total |
||
Crime | Criminal justice system | $559 | $0 | $1,276 | $280 | $2,115 |
Regular smoking | Labor market earnings associated with smoking | ($1,979) | ($4,648) | $0 | $989 | ($5,637) |
Health care associated with smoking | ($916) | ($259) | ($945) | ($458) | ($2,577) | |
Mortality associated with smoking | ($7) | ($16) | $0 | ($304) | ($327) | |
Major depressive disorder | Mortality associated with depression | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1 | $1 |
Anxiety disorder | K-12 grade repetition | $14 | $0 | $0 | $7 | $21 |
Labor market earnings associated with anxiety disorder | $2,511 | $5,899 | $0 | ($1,256) | $7,155 | |
Health care associated with anxiety disorder | $319 | $90 | $329 | $159 | $897 | |
Program cost | Adjustment for deadweight cost of program | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($1,109) | ($1,109) |
Totals | $502 | $1,067 | $660 | ($1,691) | $538 | |
Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant | ||||
Annual cost | Year dollars | Summary | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Program costs | $2,020 | 2012 | Present value of net program costs (in 2018 dollars) | ($2,219) |
Comparison costs | $0 | 2012 | Cost range (+ or -) | 20 % |
Benefits Minus Costs |
Benefits by Perspective |
Taxpayer Benefits by Source of Value |
Benefits Minus Costs Over Time (Cumulative Discounted Dollars) |
The graph above illustrates the estimated cumulative net benefits per-participant for the first fifty years beyond the initial investment in the program. We present these cash flows in discounted dollars. If the dollars are negative (bars below $0 line), the cumulative benefits do not outweigh the cost of the program up to that point in time. The program breaks even when the dollars reach $0. At this point, the total benefits to participants, taxpayers, and others, are equal to the cost of the program. If the dollars are above $0, the benefits of the program exceed the initial investment. |
Morral, A.R., McCaffrey, D.F., & Ridgeway, G. (2004). Effectiveness of community-based treatment for substance-abusing adolescents: 12-month outcomes of youths entering Phoenix Academy or alternative probation dispositions. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(3), 257-68.