Board Of Aldermen - Minutes - 2/27/2018 - P21
Cost Benefit Analysis
Funding entities want to know how their money is spent and what benefit they
are receiving from the investment. When analyzing programs like drug courts, it is often
difficult to demonstrate a dollar for dollar Savings when funds from one category may be
diverted to another category within a funding agency's budget, and when there are
multiple benefits to society as a whole. For example, while we know that it costs up to
$30,000 per year to incarcerate an offender, it costs only $8,000 - $12,000 per year to
treat the offender in the community and reduce the likelihood the offender will appear in
jail again. Notwithstanding the value of the drug court expenditure, budgets cannot be
reduced by $30,000 per drug court participant. In an extensive report from the National
Institute of Justice published in June of 2014, the cost-benefit analysis is identified as an
approach to measure the impact and success of drug courts.
This type of analysis provides a framework to combine diverse impacts such as
costs and benefits. For example, drug courts provide benefits, e.g. less crime, lower
incarceration rates but also incurs costs, e.g. treatment, and time spent by staff involved
in the program. Ideally, the benefits will be greater than the costs. The cost-benefit
analysis for drug courts may tell us the effect the program had on the participants, the
criminal justice system and the community. It is less likely to identify the exact savings
to the court or corrections department for example.
In determining the costs of drug courts, some factors to consider include the
value of the time of the team members, cost of court processing the case, cost of
treatment and other services, and the cost of drug testing. Benefits of the program
include fewer arrests, less time spent in jail, increased employment, less use of public
assistance, less hospital costs, and an increase in child support for some. By assigning
a value to each of these factors, an analysis can be made of how the program benefits
the participants, the community and the state.
Nationwide, for every $1.00 invested in Drug Court, taxpayers save as much as
$3.36 in avoided criminal justice costs alone.
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