Keeping 20 high-risk youth out of prison for 10 years will save society $4.4 million.
Resources
FACTS AND FIGURES
- There are more than 500 high-risk urban youth in the Kansas City area.
- Each incarcerated youth will cost society $22,000 per year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
- Preventing a single youth from turning to a life of crime can save society up to $2.3 million, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention (OJJDP) National Report.
- Likewise, a single family characterized by poverty, substance abuse, below average education and crime can cost society $15 million over three generations.
- Keeping 20 high-risk youth out of prison for 10 years will save society $4.4 million.
RECOMMENDED READINGS
- James Garbarino, PhD, Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them (New York; Free Press 1999)
- Scott Larson, At Risk: Bringing Hope to Hurting Teenagers (Zondervan Publishing House, 1999)
- Edward Humes, No Matter How Loud I Shout (Touchstone 1996)