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Aggression Replacement Training (ART) for court-involved/post-release youth

Juvenile Justice
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated June 2019.
Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is a cognitive behavioral intervention that targets chronically aggressive youth. ART aims to help adolescents improve social skill competence and moral reasoning, better manage anger, and reduce aggressive behavior. ART is a ten-week, 30-hour intervention delivered in groups of 8 to 12 participants, three times per week.

This analysis is on ART for juvenile justice system-involved youth in the community, including court-involved youth and post-release youth. Youth in the included studies were at moderate to high risk for recidivism and were assessed as having violent/aggressive behavior. In the studies that reported demographics, 35% of participants were youth of color and 25% of participants were female. All participants in the treatment and comparison groups received treatment as usual, which included some participation in evidence-based programs.

Evaluations on ART for youth in state institutions are excluded from this analysis and analyzed separately.

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
BENEFIT-COST
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS
For an overview of WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Model, please see this guide. The estimates shown are present value, life cycle benefits and costs. All dollars are expressed in the base year chosen for this analysis (2022).  The chance the benefits exceed the costs are derived from a Monte Carlo risk analysis. The details on this, as well as the economic discount rates and other relevant parameters are described in our Technical Documentation.
Benefit-Cost Summary Statistics Per Participant
Benefits to:
Taxpayers ($498) Benefits minus costs ($4,910)
Participants ($97) Benefit to cost ratio ($1.50)
Others ($1,148) Chance the program will produce
Indirect ($1,206) benefits greater than the costs 23%
Total benefits ($2,949)
Net program cost ($1,961)
Benefits minus cost ($4,910)

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured Treatment age No. of effect sizes Treatment N 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 3 7177 0.019 0.062 17 0.019 0.062 25 0.019 0.763
1In addition to the outcomes measured in the meta-analysis table, WSIPP measures benefits and costs estimated from other outcomes associated with those reported in the evaluation literature. For example, empirical research demonstrates that high school graduation leads to reduced crime. These associated measures provide a more complete picture of the detailed costs and benefits of the program.

2“Others” includes benefits to people other than taxpayers and participants. Depending on the program, it could include reductions in crime victimization, the economic benefits from a more educated workforce, and the benefits from employer-paid health insurance.

3“Indirect benefits” includes estimates of the net changes in the value of a statistical life and net changes in the deadweight costs of taxation.
Detailed Monetary Benefit Estimates Per Participant
Affected outcome: Resulting benefits:1 Benefits accrue to:
Taxpayers Participants Others2 Indirect3 Total
Crime Criminal justice system ($461) $0 ($1,091) ($231) ($1,782)
Labor market earnings associated with high school graduation ($48) ($113) ($62) $0 ($223)
Costs of higher education $11 $16 $5 $5 $37
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 ($980) ($980)
Totals ($498) ($97) ($1,148) ($1,206) ($2,949)
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Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $1,601 2016 Present value of net program costs (in 2022 dollars) ($1,961)
Comparison costs $0 2016 Cost range (+ or -) 10%
The per-participant cost estimate was provided by C. Redman (personal communication, Washington State Juvenile Rehabilitation, April 16, 2019). This cost is based on estimates from Barnoski, R. (2009). Providing evidence-based programs with fidelity in Washington State juvenile courts: Cost analysis (Doc. No. 09-12-1201). Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.
The figures shown are estimates of the costs to implement programs in Washington. The comparison group costs reflect either no treatment or treatment as usual, depending on how effect sizes were calculated in the meta-analysis. The cost range reported above reflects potential variation or uncertainty in the cost estimate; more detail can be found in our Technical Documentation.
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.

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Barnoski, R. (2004). Outcome evaluation of Washington State's research-based programs for juvenile offenders (Document No. 04-01-1201). Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.

Goldstein, A.P., Glick, B., Irwin, M.J., Pask-McCartney, C., & Rubama, I. (1989). Reducing delinquency: Intervention in the community. New York: Pergamon Press.

Knoth, L., Wanner, P., & He, L. (2019). Washington State’s Aggression Replacement Training for juvenile court youth: Outcome evaluation. (Document Number 19-06-1201). Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.