7000 high school dropouts...EVERY DAY!

That’s right, 7000 every day of the year. Over 2.5 million annually! We have already discussed the affect that dropping out of school has on the individual, now let us look at what it does to the local community and to the state.

Locally, dropouts account for a disproportionate amount of graffiti on buildings, signs and other locations. Dropouts increase minor crime, vandalism, and gang presence. It also causes an increase in drug use. Now, not all dropouts do these things, most are law abiding citizens. But dropping out dramatically increases the risks faced by these young adults. The increased crime and gang activity can cause the local community to be a less desirable location for new residents, can cause potential new businesses to choose a different location, and may result in existing businesses relocating. It isn’t much of a stretch to suggest that a high population of dropouts can cause the decay of an entire area. It can be partially responsible for food deserts, empty storefronts, and depressed local economies.

From a state level it can be even worse. Not only do all the above happen state-wide, but there is also a dramatic negative affect on the state budget. It was estimated that if the dropouts in Indiana from the year 2009 had all graduated, it would have a lifetime increase of over six billion dollars to the Indiana economy. The added tax revenue is only a small part of the benefit. Reducing the number of dropouts reduces incarcerations, public assistance, TANF, Welfare, and overall need for state funded entitlement programs. The net affect is that state revenue goes up, and state expenditures go down.

Can A Second Chance Inc. reduce the dropout rate? Probably not. The government has spent trillions of dollars since the 1960’s attempting to do so and have been very unsuccessful. What we can do, is take some of these young adults off the street, and give them a reason to work hard, a reason to stay off drugs, a reason to stay out of trouble and out of jail. We can give them an opportunity to counter the typical results of dropping out, get off or stay off of government assistance programs, increase their annual income and their overall stability in life.

Next time, we will take a look at the plan which A Second Chance Inc. has in place to help accomplish these things.

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