From an article on a preventive program and how it reduces crime and other social ills.

– 79 percent fewer cases of child abuse and neglect among the families who went through the program compared to the control group.
– 33 percent fewer subsequent pregnancies.
– 54 percent fewer arrests among 15-year-olds.
– 69 percent fewer convictions and probation violations among 15-year-olds.
– 58 percent fewer sexual partners among 15-year-olds.

And there’s more!

…for every $1 invested in prevention, $4 were saved in the future…

Sounds like a good program, right? So do they want to implement it across the country?

Despite the success of the Elmira programs, early-childhood prevention programs statewide are woefully inadequate, Wiley said.

Officials are also concerned that when economic conditions worsen and budgets get tight, preventive programs are often the first to get the ax.

As usual, public health programs are the first on the cutting board. For some reason politicians see saving a dollar now as more politically expedient than saving four or five times that in the future.

What’s that old saying? Penny wise and pound foolish. That’s the government for you.

(via Respectful of Otters)