2012 · Study · English

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Communities That Care Outcomes at Eighth Grade

Kuklinski, M. R., Briney, J. S., Hawkins, J. D., & Catalano, R. F.

Kuklinski, M. R., Briney, J. S., Hawkins, J. D., & Catalano, R. F. (2012). Cost-Benefit Analysis of Communities That Care Outcomes at Eighth Grade. Prevention Science, 13(2), 150–161. doi.org/10.1007/s11121-011-0259-9

Summary

First cost–benefit analysis of Communities That Care, based on the grade 5 to 8 results of the randomised controlled trial in 24 communities across seven US states. Earlier analyses had shown that CTC prevented the initiation of cigarette smoking, alcohol use and delinquency by the end of grade 8; this paper projects the long-term monetary benefits of the smoking and delinquency effects and compares them with the cost of the intervention. Under conservative assumptions the net present benefit is USD 5,250 per young person, USD 812 from prevented smoking and USD 4,438 from prevented delinquency, and the benefit–cost ratio is USD 5.30 per dollar invested; under less conservative assumptions the ratio rises to USD 10.23. The authors conclude that CTC is a cost-beneficial preventive intervention and a good use of public money even under very cautious assumptions. Together with the 2015 grade 12 analysis it forms the economic case that European municipalities can cite for a coalition-based system.