The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities is pushing a massive plan to reach “disconnected” youth. It comes with a hefty price tag, but supporters say the investment could pay big dividends.

Teens and groups that work with them packed into the state Capitol complex on Thursday, urging lawmakers to invest nearly $1 billion over the next decade to reach at risk youth.

The price tag is steep, but supporters said the cost of doing nothing is just as high – in terms of school dropouts, unfilled jobs and youth crime.

It was a violent attack in a quiet Westport neighborhood – all caught on a Ring security camera.

“Someone call the police!” a man screamed.

Last September, Westport police say a teenager assaulted a man in his own garage before driving off with the victim’s luxury Aston Martin. The brazen attack made national headlines. Giovanni Lopez, 16, is now charged as an adult with multiple felonies.

“The motor vehicle theft, burglary, assault, strangulation,” Westport police Lt. Eric Woods told News 12 Connecticut last year.

Three adults were also charged. One of them was recently sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison.

The Westport attack shows the need to reach at-risk kids before they get into trouble, intervention groups said on Thursday.

“The cost for those youth, we believe to be about $11,000 per year for each of those young people in cost of incarceration, in income taxes that we, as a state, will not earn,” said United Way of Connecticut CEO Lisa Tepper Bates.

The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities identified 119,000 kids in Connecticut as “at risk” or “disconnected” – 29% more than just a few years ago. The result is students dropping out of school, causing "street takeovers” or even ending up in jail.

To turn the tide, CCM and the United Way are urging state lawmakers to support “Young People First” – an ambitious but expensive roadmap to turn troubled youths around.

The proposal calls for nearly $1 billion in youth investments over a decade – including schools, mental health and on-the-ground intervention programs.

“What changed my trajectory wasn't luck,” said Erica Soares, of Waterbury. “It was people and programs that believed in my potential when I couldn't see it myself.”

CCM is also calling for the state to phase-in $545 million more in local school funding, plus bigger investments in job training and apprenticeship programs.

“Young adults will have more jobs, the violence within our cities will decrease and young adults will be able to have a better for themselves and their families,” said Khamari Thornton, of East Hartford.

Despite the high cost, advocates estimate that the plan could add up to $5.5 billion in new taxes and economic activity. The groups believe the cost of inaction is $750 million per year.

“Sometimes we talk about spending like it’s just spending; it’s not an investment,” said CCM president Joe DeLong.

The initial down payment would be closer to $150 million. But even finding that amount will be a tall challenge unless state lawmakers loosen Connecticut’s strict spending caps, known as “fiscal guardrails.” Republicans, as well as Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, oppose adjusting the spending limits.

“It’s freed up an awful lot of money to make key investments in social services and we wouldn’t otherwise be able to do it,” Lamont said on Tuesday. “It’s a far cry from where we were seven years ago.”

Lawmakers return to Hartford on Jan. 8, when Lamont will deliver a State of the State address. The governor will present a two year budget proposal to following month.