Roxanne Lieb - October 1994

This document can assist policymakers in understanding the major research findings in juvenile delinquency. It summarizes key findings and offers an overview of various topics, including: juvenile delinquency risk factors, program effectiveness, juvenile detention, and delinquency prevention.

Roxanne Lieb, Lee Fish, Todd Crosby - October 1994

The 1994 Legislature determined that Washington's juvenile justice system requires "substantial revision," and created a legislative task force to review the system. To assist in this endeavor, the Institute reviewed the major trends in the nation regarding juvenile justice.

Carol Webster, Greg Weeks - August 1994

This brief is a review of five welfare-to-work approaches that proved beneficial to welfare recipients.

Carol Webster, Greg Weeks - August 1994

New Chance was a national demonstration program that targeted young women who received welfare. Participants were 16 to 22 years old, gave birth as teenagers, and were high school dropouts. Immediate objectives were to increase educational attainment, increase contraceptive use, and improve parenting skills. Long-term objectives were to increase employment and decrease welfare use. The evaluation of New Chance was conducted by Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC). Women in the experimental and control groups were interviewed at 18 months after entering the program. The findings presented here summarize the results of the 18-month follow-up.

Carol Webster, Greg Weeks - August 1994

The Riverside GAIN program, one of the six counties in the experimental evaluation of California's Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN) program, had the best results to date for a large welfare-to-work demonstration program. GAIN was evaluated by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) over a 36-month follow-up period. The findings presented here summarize these results.

Cheryl Milloy - June 1994

Presented in this report are the findings of a study that compares the background characteristics and offense behavior of a group of juveniles who have been convicted of at least one sex offense to a group of delinquent offenders who have never been convicted of a sex offense.

Lin Song, Roxanne Lieb - June 1994

This study is a preliminary estimate of the recidivism rates of sex offenders who have completed the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) at the Washington State Department of Corrections’ Twin Rivers Corrections Center. Estimated recidivism rates of these offenders are compared with the rates of a group of released sex offenders who did not receive sex offender treatment during incarceration.

Lin Song, Roxanne Lieb - January 1994

Sex offenders may re-offend, even after they have been convicted and imprisoned. This conduct is known as recidivism. Research on sex offender recidivism can help the public and policymakers understand the risks posed by convicted sex offenders. This paper summarizes the major research findings related to sex offender recidivism.

Edie Harding, Thomas Sykes - January 1994

The 1993 Washington Legislature, in ESHB 1211, directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to develop "....recommendations for the design of a comprehensive study of the role and performance of educational service districts." This report, submitted to the Education Committees of the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives, presents recommendations to assess the role and performance of Educational Service Districts (ESDs) in Washington's K-12 education system.

Sheila Donnelly, Roxanne Lieb - December 1993

Washington State's 1990 Community Protection Act requires released sex offenders to register with the sheriff in their county of residence within 24 hours of release. In addition, the Act expressly authorizes law enforcement agencies to notify the public when a sex offender with a high risk of reoffense settles in the community. This law, called "community notification," was the first of its kind in the country. In March 1993, the Institute surveyed sheriffs in all 39 counties and the chiefs of police in the ten largest cities regarding their use of the community notification law.