Cost-Effective Juvenile Justice
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Less Cost, More Safety: This AYPF report spotlights eight common challenges that face juvenile justice systems across the nation. It features existing programs, policies and initiatives that have met these challenges successfully at the state and local levels. Most of the model initiatives profiled in this report achieve their notable successes at a price significantly lower than the program they replaced. Even programs with higher price tags often prove to be cost-effective because they address problems the first time around, rather than the repeated attempts taken by programs in the past. (2001)
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Cost-Effective Youth Corrections: Rationalizing the Fiscal Architecture of Juvenile Justice Systems: Most states spend the bulk of their juvenile justice dollars on the expensive and ineffective incarceration of a very small percentage of the total number of system-involved youth - even though a large body of research suggests that less costly, community-based alternatives to incarceration are more effective for the majority of youth. The Justice Policy Institute (JPI) examines how adjustments to the fiscal architecture of juvenile justice systems can help ensure that state spending nurtures the development of locally operated programs that will effectively treat more youth close to home.
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Family Integrated Transitions Program for Juvenile Offenders: Outcome Evaluation and Benefit-Cost Analysis: In 2000, the Washington State Legislature initiated a pilot rehabilitation program, the Family Integrated Transitions (FIT) Program for juvenile offenders sentenced to a state juvenile justice institution. The program focuses on offenders with “co-occurring” substance abuse and mental health disorders. This report by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) presents findings on the effectiveness of the program in reducing juvenile recidivism, as well as an analysis of the program’s benefits and costs. (December, 2004)
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Evidence-Based Juvenile Offender Programs: Program Description, Quality Assurance, and Cost: This report provides a list of six juvenile offender programs that have been identified by the WSIPP as evidence-based. Each program listing contains a brief description, information regarding quality assurance, program cost per participant, and a list of the research citations used in WSIPP’s analysis. (June, 2007)