INVISIBLE CHILDREN

Just read the bold print first…

With appreciation for the hard work being done by RAMSEY COUNTY ACE:

RAMSEY COUNTY ACE:
OVERVIEW OF A COMPREHENSIVE INTERVENTION

Hope Melton
Director
Ramsey County (MN) ACE

The ACE target population – high-risk, high-impact Child delinquents, that is children age 12 and under who commit chargeable offenses, are an especially high-risk population with a disproportionate impact on society.

Justice Department research shows that child delinquents are substantially more likely to be recidivists and serious, violent and chronic offenders (SVJ). This research also shows that 3 out of 5 chronic serious and violent adult offenders began their careers before age 12.

These are the children that will become the 8% of adolescents who commit up to 70% of all serious and violent juvenile crime. ACE research indicates that serious and violent delinquency may be concentrated in just 2-4% of families. This points to the importance of early identification through the ACE Program.

Mark Cohen, in a 1998 article titled “The Monetary Value of Saving a High-Risk Youth,” estimated that the cost to taxpayers of a single lifetime serious, violent and chronic offender is between $1.7 and $2.3 million. This cost include criminal justice, victim, drug abuse, and lost productivity costs.

ACE research shows a strong historical pattern of criminality in families of child delinquents. Using Cohen’s estimates, we calculate the multi-generational “multiplier effect” to be between $3.4 and $11.5 million. In these families, criminality is likely to grow exponentially.