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1 Nov 2014
Report

Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative: Benefit-to-Cost Analysis of Springfield and Boston Sites

Douglas Bradham and Patricia E. Campie, AIR
Anthony Petrosino, WestEd

This benefit-to-cost analysis was conducted as a preliminary investigation into the value of the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) implemented in Massachusetts as an effort to curb violent crime in eleven cities across the state.

The authors investigated three objectives:

  • To estimate the site-specific costs to society of implementing the SSYI interventions in Boston and Springfield, from January 2012 through December 2013
  • To estimate the potential economic benefits of the crime victimization reductions documented by applying reliable estimates of the economic losses incurred when violent crimes are committed
  • To estimate the average annual ratio of society’s benefit-to-cost ratios, after all amounts have been adjusted to 2013 values

Key Findings

  • Examination of the Boston and Springfield SSYI programs suggests that each dollar invested in these SSYI sites may be associated with societal cost-savings of as much as $7.35, in 2013 dollars.
  • A dollar invested in Boston’s SSYI program could be expected to gain a savings of nearly $7.40 in crime-related cost savings.
  • In Springfield, the data suggests that 1 dollar in investment in the SSYI program would be associated with a likely cost-savings of just over $6.95.
PDF icon Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative: Benefit-to-Cost Analysis of Springfield and Boston Sites (PDF)

Related Projects

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Project

Safe and Successful Youth Initiative in Massachusetts (SSYI)

Youth violence disrupts communities and businesses, increases health care costs, and decreases property values—not to mention the human impact. The Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) in Massachusetts combines health and safety approaches to eliminating serious violence among high-risk, urban youth. Does it work? Three new AIR evaluations, announced by MA former governor Patrick, showed youth not involved in SSYI were 42% more likely to be incarcerated than youth who were.

Related Work

1 Oct 2014
Report

The Impact of the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative on City-Level Youth Crime Victimization Rates

To address serious youth violence, particularly that involving guns, Massachusetts initiated the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative in 2011, providing a comprehensive public health approach to addressing young men, between the ages of 14-24, believed to be at “proven risk” for being involved with firearms.
Topic: 
Juvenile Justice, Violence Prevention, Youth-Serving Systems
1 Oct 2014
Report

A Comparative Study Using Propensity Score Matching to Predict Incarceration Likelihoods Among SSYI and non-SSYI Youth from 2011-2013

To address serious youth violence, particularly that involving guns, Massachusetts launched the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative in 2011, providing a comprehensive public health approach to addressing young men, between the ages of 14-24, believed to be at “proven risk” for being involved with firearms.
Topic: 
Juvenile Justice

Further Reading

  • Massachusetts’s Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) Continues to Reduce Violent Crime and Improve Lives
  • Safe and Successful Youth Initiative in Massachusetts (SSYI)
  • A Comparative Study Using Propensity Score Matching to Predict Incarceration Likelihoods Among SSYI and non-SSYI Youth from 2011-2013
  • The Impact of the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative on City-Level Youth Crime Victimization Rates
  • Reducing Gun Violence: What Can Be Done Now
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Patricia E. Campie

Principal Researcher

Topic

Juvenile Justice

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