The cost of not using evidence-based programs for troubled youths is high
Proponents of Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and other evidence-based programs say it over and over. Give young people experiencing difficulties the right intervention and you save society enormous amounts of money by keeping them home, out of jail, and turning them into productive citizens.
Fifty British charities have weighed in on the subject. They estimate that a failure to intervene early leads to crises more costly to fix later. More costly? How about $2 billion more costly.
Carey Oppenheim, chief executive of one of the charities, Early Intervention Foundation, said, “Taking action as soon as possible to tackle problems for children, young people and their families before they become more difficult to reverse is more crucial than ever.
“Our organizations are uniting to send a powerful message to whoever forms the new government. Prioritizing and investing in early intervention will not only save money but will give a generation of children, young people, and their families the best chance of thriving.”
The United Kingdom will be voting this week to determine the new prime minister. Conservative Party incumbent David Cameron is being challenged by Labour’s David Miliband. Whoever wins will be needed to examine the question raised by these charities. Spend an unacceptable amount of money dealing with high-risk youths later or invest far less on improving their future now.
The coalition of charities say, there is “a moral duty to do more than just pick up the pieces only when things go wrong.” They urge a fund to be established to funnel money to groups that have shown positive results with early interventions. Multisystemic Therapy is one of the interventions they support. MST has been found to improve the functioning of problem families, reduce youth offending, and cut the number of young people being taken into council care. Currently, there are 36 MST teams in the U.K.
The charities have the facts and figures to back up their contention and proposal. With any luck, this message will be heard and heeded by the next government.
To learn more about the cost-effectiveness of MST, download this white paper. 
