Project Prevention, an organization that offers cash incentives to women that are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol to use long-term or permanent birth control, announced today that they have made payment to their 3,000th client. Cassandra, a Portland woman addicted to methamphetamines received $300 for tubal ligation. No other organization works to prevent the unacceptable and tragic consequence of Substance Exposed Infants.

“It is incredible to think we have paid 3,000 clients so far, but there is so much work left to be done,” said Barbara Harris, Founder and Director of Project Prevention.

While hard numbers for the savings generated by Project Prevention’s work are hard to calculate, most conservative estimates place the savings for taxpayers at $450 Million to $1 Billion. Just one birth by one of Project Prevention’s clients would cost upwards of $150,000 for eighteen years of foster care. In addition the costs of medical care, counseling, special education, a vast array of other possible complications and the number rapidly grows.

An example of one of Project Prevention’s cases was one toddler’s extensive medical needs who cost taxpayers over $3 million dollars in his short three years of life. In reality most of Project Prevention’s clients have 3 or more children so the cost quickly escalates. Project Prevention does support drug treatment, but the sad reality is that more often than not it fails.

Barbara Harris is the mother of four adopted children all born to the same drug addicted woman. Frustrated watching her children’s birth mother give birth to one unwanted baby after another, Mrs. Harris attempted to get legislation passed to make giving birth to a Drug Exposed Infant a crime in her home state of California. When the legislation she inspired failed to pass, Harris decided to take matters into her own hands and started Project Prevention from her own home with her own funds.

Source: Project Prevention