Invest in prevention before disconnected youth enter the criminal justice system, and fund job growth, improved high school and community college programs, and social programs¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The report recommends shifting spending toward prevention, arguing that current programs are small-scale, rehabilitative, and under-funded relative to the losses calculated. It states that "investments before dropouts disconnected youth become involved in the criminal justice system are much more efficient than training programs for ex-offenders." It proposes policies to promote job growth, improve high school and community college programs, and fund social programs for prevention and rehabilitation, funded at both federal and state/local levels.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• New resources are required, ideally funded at both federal and state/local levels; states should fund policies regardless of federal action because they bear the loss.

Constraints¶

• A single, small-scale intervention is unlikely to overcome youths' multiple obstacles; governments must consider both the youth's circumstances and local labor market opportunities.

Target Learners¶

• High school dropouts
• Disconnected youth aged 16-24

Target Learning Goals¶

• High school completion
• Transition to work or postsecondary education
• Economic independence

Claims¶

• Arizona high school graduates are predicted to earn $271,040 more over a lifetime than dropouts, net of ability and motivation adjustments [+W]
• The future lifetime loss from disconnected youth is three times greater than the immediate loss during the youth years [+W]
• The lifetime fiscal loss per Arizona high school dropout is $135,730 across all levels of government, or $2.5 billion per cohort [+W]

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• How Arizona's Dropout Crisis Affects Communities, Creates Economic Losses for the State of Arizona. (2014). A Project of WestEd. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED559628