Are youth mentoring programs good value-for-money? An evaluation of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Melbourne Program
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program matches vulnerable young people with a trained, supervised adult volunteer as mentor. The young people are typically seriously disadvantaged, with multiple psychosocial problems.</p>...
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| Format: | Book |
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BMC,
2009-01-01T00:00:00Z.
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| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program matches vulnerable young people with a trained, supervised adult volunteer as mentor. The young people are typically seriously disadvantaged, with multiple psychosocial problems.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Threshold analysis was undertaken to determine whether investment in the program was a worthwhile use of limited public funds. The potential cost savings were based on US estimates of life-time costs associated with high-risk youth who drop out-of-school and become adult criminals. The intervention was modelled for children aged 10-14 years residing in Melbourne in 2004.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>If the program serviced 2,208 of the most vulnerable young people, it would cost AUD 39.5 M. Assuming 50% were high-risk, the associated costs of their adult criminality would be AUD 3.3 billion. To break even, the program would need to avert high-risk behaviours in only 1.3% (14/1,104) of participants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This indicative evaluation suggests that the BBBS program represents excellent 'value for money'.</p> |
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| Item Description: | 10.1186/1471-2458-9-41 1471-2458 |