HARRISBURG – A new Penn State study released today concludes that investments in evidence-based delinquency prevention programs by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency have reduced crime and violence and have produced a $317 million return to taxpayers.
“The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency wants to ensure that state dollars are being wisely invested and this report shows that is exactly what we are doing,” said PCCD Chairman Walter M. Phillips Jr. “PCCD will continue to support these vital programs that have been proven to prevent crime and also save taxpayers’ money.”
The study by the Prevention Research Center at Penn State focused on seven programs at the core of PCCD’s juvenile delinquency prevention strategy: Big Brothers Big Sisters, LifeSkills Training, Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care, Multisystemic Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Nurse-Family Partnership and Strengthening Families 10-14. These programs provide mentoring opportunities for at-risk youth, school-based and family building initiatives, substance abuse prevention efforts, and individual and family therapy for juvenile offenders.
Each of the programs reviewed by the Prevention Research Center had a positive cost benefit ratio – from $54 to nearly $80,000 per youth – resulting in an estimated average return of up to $12 million per community for a single program and a total cost savings of $317 million statewide.
“This report comes at a critical time,” said Brian Bumbarger, co-author of the report and the director of policy research for the Prevention Research Center. “Given the current rate of inmate population growth, Pennsylvania can spend $700 million on new prison construction and we’ll still be overcrowded by more than 9,000 inmates within five years.”
The report is available on the Penn State Prevention Research Center Web site.
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