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Sum m ary We estimate that some of the 16 interventions —if they were well imple- mented —would have positive economic results for Washington as measured by avoided crime costs. The following are three examples of cost - effective programs from Table 2. Example 1. Multi- Systemic Therapy is an intervention for high -risk juvenile offenders that could be implemented through Washington's juvenile courts. The program costs about $4,500 per participant, and we estimate that it could lower the subsequent level of felony offending in Washington for this group by 44 percent. Our analysis shows that this reduction in crime would save taxpayers $12,381 per participant in future criminal justice system costs. Therefore, MST's bottom line for taxpayers is, on average, a net gain of $7,881 for every high - risk juvenile offender placed on the program. We also estimate that an additional $13,982 in future out -of- pocket costs paid by crime victims can be avoided with the MST program. Thus, taxpayer and crime victim benefits combined produce a net gain of $21,863 per participant. Example 2. Thurston County FastTrack Diversion, a program for first -time minor juvenile offenders, speeds up the time between when a youth commits an offense and when he or she appears before a Community Accountability Board. Based on our preliminary evaluation, we estimate that it will lower the level of subsequent felony offending in Washington for this group by 29 percent. The program costs taxpayers an estimated $136 per participant and reduces subsequent taxpayer criminal justice costs by $2,900. The bottom line for taxpayers is thus a positive net benefit of $2,764 per program youth. Adding the victim - related benefits brings the total net benefits of the program to $6,436 per youth. Example 3. The Seattle Social Development Project uses classroom management techniques and an instructional curriculum designed to prevent later delinquency and substance abuse for first through sixth grades. The five -year program costs a total of $2,991 per student. Based on evaluation results to date, the Institute estimates that the program saves taxpayers $3,068 in avoided criminal justice costs and saves crime victims $3,191. With respect to criminal justice costs, the program breaks even for taxpayers and produces a positive $3,268 return per student from a combined taxpayer and crime victim perspective. CONCLUSION: The Institute's economic analysis of the existing evaluation literature indicates that there are some interventions, if well implemented, that can lower crime rates and lower total costs. Some economically attractive programs are designed to reduce the odds that young children will ever begin committing crimes, and some are designed for juvenile offenders already in the criminal justice system. The legislature, in passing 1997's E3SHB 3900, set up a process to implement some of these cost - effective interventions through the juvenile courts, and the Institute will evaluate their performance in Washington over the next several years. Most existing state - funded programs that attempt to reduce crime, however, have never been rigorously evaluated. Thus, it is not possible to calculate their cost - effectiveness with any precision. If this knowledge gap is filled with targeted evaluation studies, the state can become more strategic in its criminal justice funding decisions. For information call: Steve Aos, Robert Bamoski, or Roxanne Lieb at (360) 866 -6000, ext. 6380. Washington State Institute for Public Policy The Washington Legislature created the Washington State Institute for Public Policy in 1983. A Board of Directors — representing the legislature, the governor, and public universities— governs the Institute and guides the development of all activities. The Institute's mission is to carry out practical research, at legislative direction, on issues of importance to Washington State. Page 34