Program Costs

There are few necessary costs associated with implementing the G.R.E.A.T. Program.

All necessary application forms need to be faxed to the G.R.E.A.T. National Program Office. The training is provided to qualified officers through a federal government grant, so the only costs for officers to attend the training will be travel and subsistence costs. If officers attend a regular regional training site (Nashville, Phoenix, La Crosse, Portland), lodging is provided as well. Lodging is not normally provided at remote locations (any training site other than the ones listed above).

Certified G.R.E.A.T. instructors can order student handbooks using their G.R.E.A.T. instructor account online or a faxable order form. The handbooks (significant and necessary tools needed for each student) are provided free of cost through a federal grant.

Student graduation certificates, ready for personalization and presentation to each student at the conclusion of the course, are included with each handbook order. Certificates are also provided through a federal grant, at no cost to the local agency.

Motivational items to encourage students and build positive identity with the G.R.E.A.T. Program can be ordered by the G.R.E.A.T. instructor’s agency from G.R.E.A.T. authorized vendors. Once the initial training is accomplished, the basic classroom programs (whether in middle school, elementary school, or both) have almost no necessary costs, if personnel coverage is not an issue. Some agencies like to provide incentive items to boost the involvement and interest of youths, such as T-shirts or G.R.E.A.T. pencils and pens. Such items are available at relatively low costs from G.R.E.A.T.-licensed vendors and are entirely optional.

As with most projects, personnel costs are often the biggest obstacle. Since the G.R.E.A.T. Program is officer-instructed, an officer (or officers) must be made available to teach the Program. Because taking time to be in the classroom and school setting may take the officer away from other duties, it may be necessary to add personnel or use overtime in order to cover the G.R.E.A.T. instructor’s responsibilities while he/she is in the classroom.

Some communities have been able to avoid this by having school resource officers teach the G.R.E.A.T. Program in the school(s) where they are already assigned. Depending on their duty assignments, they may be able to work the classes into their existing schedules without the need for additional coverage. When necessary, additional personnel costs may be covered by certain federal grants or through state or local resources.

The more advanced elements of the Program, the G.R.E.A.T. Families component and the G.R.E.A.T. Summer program, are likely to entail additional costs for things such as food and transportation. Again, those components are optional and are not necessary to implement the school-based curriculum. Agencies that do utilize them often do so in partnership with other community agencies, such as Boys & Girls Clubs, which helps to spread both the responsibilities and the costs.