Last fall, LA’s BEST announced the results of a landmark study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice and conducted by UCLA’s National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST).  The results show that students in LA’s BEST are 30 percent less likely to commit juvenile crime than their peers. Using conservative estimates, the study also found that for every dollar invested in the LA’s BEST program, the City saves $2.50 in costs associated with crime. At the press conference to release the study’s results, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said, “When it comes to educating our kids and keeping them out of trouble, LA’s BEST gets an A+. This study shows that when we invest in our children and we engage our students, crime rates drop and everyone benefits.”

Now Congress has heard about those results from one of the nation’s top academic researchers in early childhood education. In March, Priscilla Little of the Harvard Family Research Project gave testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, where she called the CRESST study of LA’s BEST "powerful evidence of the potential long-term effects of and benefits to society from after school programs." Ms. Little's testimony can be viewed at: http://edlabor.house.gov/testimony/2008-03-11-PriscillaLittle.pdf.

The CRESST study is the first in the nation to include enough data, students and background information to support valid and viable academic findings. It examined ten years of data and used a sample of more than 6,000 students from LA public schools. It also focuses on the level of the children’s attendance and participation in the program, rather than simply enrollment.

“We are thrilled that the CRESST/UCLA study confirmed our belief that youth engagement in the LA’s BEST is a strong deterrent to juvenile crime,” LA’s BEST CEO and President Carla Sanger said. “It shows how important LA’s BEST is in elementary schools across the City and creates an even greater sense of urgency to invest in this program.”

• The study found that students who are highly engaged in the LA's BEST program attending at least 15 days per month are 30 percent less likely to commit a crime.
• While a consistent positive effect on juvenile crime was noted, the analysis also revealed that the more intensely the student was engaged (i.e., the more days the student attended each month or on average per week), the greater the positive impact of LA's BEST on the student's behavior.
• Results were not tied to whether the student was enrolled at a school with LA's BEST (or not), but were determined by level of individual student participation in the LA's BEST program.
• The study found that LA's BEST did not select the potentially "best" schools in which to place its program. In fact, according to the study, "even sporadic participation in the program leads to some reduction in crime hazards for students living in very poor neighborhoods. This provides further validation for LA's BEST effects as these neighborhoods are a focus of the intervention." (Study Brief, page 6).
• Both LA's BEST students and society at large benefit from the program, according to analysis using cost estimates associated with specific crimes, the juvenile court system, and impact on victims.
• Using conservative estimates, the study also concluded that for every dollar invested in the LA's BEST program, the City saves $2.50 in costs associated with crime.

Contact:
Catherine Stringer
office 213-978-0793
cell 213-280-8672

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