Life Skills Training is an evidence-based substance abuse prevention curriculum currently being implemented amongst sixth grade students at Eckstein Middle School. A recent report from the Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University indicates that prevention programs implemented in their state, including Life Skills Training, "produced returns between $1 and $25 per dollar invested, and can generate cost savings as great as $130 million for a single program."
Reducing costs for juvenile justice system: "The evidence of the substantial economic benefits of these prevention programs, coupled with the proof of their impact on delinquency and crime prevention, comes at a critical time. The cost of Pennsylvania's criminal and juvenile justice system is increasing dramatically, and the state is currently facing a corrections crisis, with county jails and state prisons operating well-over capacity . . . increased support for effective prevention programs throughout Pennsylvania could generate reductions in both youth and adult corrections populations and save the Commonwealth millions of dollars."
Substantial return on investment: When they looked at Life Skills Training they found that "The unusually low program cost and wide reach, combined with high effectiveness, results in a return on investment of over $25 (per dollar invested)."
