The cost of batterer programs: How much and who pays?

Abstract

This article documents the economic costs of four geographically and programmatically diverse batterer treatment programs and illustrates the components and procedures of a program cost analysis. Such analyses provide an essential component of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and can assist policy makers in understanding how the structure and scope of batterer programs influence the costs. Cost per batterer session at the four sites was similar ($22-$32) despite differences in organizational structure and scope of services provided even when cost figures are adjusted ($17-$22) for other services offered by the sites. The estimated cost of program completion in 1995 ranged from $264 to $864. Completion costs that take account of other services that these sites provide range from $261 to $622, with three of the sites reporting completion costs less than $400. Much of the cost of these programs is borne by batterers.