Rebecca Goodvin, Julia Cramer - December 2024

WSIPP receives funding from the legislature to conduct research on K-12 education topics. This report focuses on Career and Technical Education skill centers and their students. Skill centers are regional secondary schools that serve students across multiple school districts and provide programs that are too expensive or specialized for school districts to operate individually.

In this report, we describe skill center programming and explore questions regarding access. We find that approximately 86% of Washington’s students reside in districts with access to a skill center. Students in districts without access are evenly split between rural and urban locales. Only 3% of high school students enrolled in a skill center course in AY 2023, and skill center directors reported that demand exceeds availability for a majority of their programs.

Additionally, we summarize data on skill center students’ graduation rates and their post-secondary and labor market outcomes over a five-year period following high school. Across the 2013 through 2023 graduation cohorts, most skill center students (80%) earned a high school diploma. Less than 40% have earned a post-secondary credential five years after graduation, but nearly 70% are employed over that time frame. Only 10% of skill center students are not in education or employment five years after graduation.

Corey Whichard, Morgan Spangler, Leah Hardenbergh - December 2024

The 2023 Legislature directed WSIPP to conduct a study of local jails and juvenile detention centers (JDCs). The study had three objectives: 1) identify changes in population characteristics between 2010 and 2022; 2) learn about staffing shortages, facility conditions, available services, costs, and funding sources through a survey of local facilities; and 3) examine the availability of Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) classes for correctional officers.

The current study has three components. First, we used administrative data from 2010-2022 to examine trends in the characteristics of all individuals who were admitted to jail and JDCs for at least 24 hours. We observed decreases in the number of admissions and the percentage of individuals detained for drug crime, along with increases in the percentage of mental health disorders and individuals detained for violent crime.

Second, we collected and analyzed survey data from 56 institutions (35 jails, 21 JDCs) that operate 64 facilities. To our knowledge, our respondent pool represents all local detention facilities across Washington. Among other findings, most respondents reported that their institution struggles to recruit and retain correction officers, resulting in persistent staffing shortages. In addition, the average facility has been in operation for 35 years. Most respondents indicated their facility needs extensive repair.

Finally, we examined the availability of CJTC courses using administrative records and survey data. Although state law mandates that new recruits complete training within six months of being hired as a correctional officer, evidence suggests that CJTC courses are not offered frequently enough to keep up with demand. As a result, new recruits have been waiting 6-12 months before enrolling. Survey results indicate that most respondents are dissatisfied with the availability of CJTC courses.

Cory Briar, Alexandra Johnson - November 2024

The 2023 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to study the costs of conservation district (district) supervisor elections under current law and several alternative policies that would move elections to be held under the statute for general elections and other special purpose districts. WSIPP was also tasked with investigating potential non-monetary costs and benefits of these alternative policies.

This preliminary report provides a background on districts in Washington and an overview of their current election processes. We describe our efforts to collect election cost data from all conservation districts in the state. We have also assembled data on historical election turnout from the Washington State Conservation Commission (SCC) and have obtained general election cost data for each county from the Office of the Secretary of State.

The final report, which will be published in June 2025, will include our analysis of the costs of elections in each district and will estimate costs under each alternative policy specified in the study assignment. It will also contain a qualitative analysis of the potential non-monetary costs and benefits of each alternative policy based on feedback from district personnel, SCC, and other stakeholders. This preliminary report describes our plan for those analyses.

Travis Taniguchi - October 2024

In Washington, reentry navigators work with individuals after they leave prison and enter a period of community custody. These navigators refer individuals to supportive services, rehabilitation programs, and potential employers. With funding from the Department of Justice, the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) is exploring the impact of equipping community reentry navigators with lists of verified service providers. The intent of the verified provider list (VPL) is to improve upon historical practices by creating a provider directory that is more comprehensive, accurate, and up to date. The VPL was implemented in four reentry centers in two counties; three reentry centers serving three additional counties serve as comparison locations. With approval from WSIPP’s Board of Directors, the DOC contracted with WSIPP to conduct an evaluation of the VPL.

In this preliminary report, we describe the providers that are included on the VPL; describe characteristics of people that are assigned to treatment and comparison reentry facility; and explore how the VPL changes engagement with service providers measured through the number of referrals, the length of time until first referral, and the length of time until first engagement.

There was evidence that the VPL was working as intended. Reentry navigators in areas with access to the VPL provided more referrals and provided those referrals more quickly. On average, the first referral was 30 days faster in treatment reentry centers (20 days) versus comparison reentry centers (51 days).

A final evaluation, including exploring program impacts on recidivism, will be published in December 2025.

Julia Cramer, Colin Gibson - October 2024

In 2021, the Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to produce a series of reports to “understand whether participation in postsecondary education (PSE) while incarcerated contributes to greater enrollment and completion of postsecondary education and reduced recidivism post release.” This first report examines the association between participation in PSE programs in adult prisons and enrollment and completion in community and technical colleges (CTC) in Washington after release.

The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) have long collaborated to provide most of the education programming in prisons. In this report, we focus on DOC-SBCTC contracted PSE programs, which include workforce training or academic programs that lead to a vocational certificate, workforce associate degree, direct transfer associate degree, or bachelor's degree.

We find that participation in PSE in prison is associated with a higher likelihood of enrolling in a CTC after release. However, among PSE participants and non-participants who went on to enroll in a CTC after release from prison, there were no differences between their retention rates, GPAs, accumulated credits, or probability of credential receipt. When considering overall credential receipt during and after incarceration, though, PSE participants were more likely to hold a credential than non-participants.

A final report in October 2027 will expand upon this report, examining how recent changes to postsecondary correctional education in prisons have influenced post-release education outcomes and recidivism.

Morgan Spangler, Paige Wanner, Nathan Adams, Curtis Mack, Katelyn Kelley - July 2024

Starting in 2018, the Washington State Legislature made reforms colloquially referred to as “JR to 25.” This legislation, in part, modified the jurisdiction of courts and correctional facilities for juveniles who commit serious violent offenses in Washington State. The JR to 25 bills also directed WSIPP to examine the impacts of the legislative changes. This study serves as a preliminary report.

In this report, we summarize the policy changes resulting from JR to 25; describe changes in the population housed in juvenile facilities before and after the legislation took effect; provide a preliminary descriptive analysis of individuals’ participation in programming and behavior while in confinement; and estimate the fiscal impacts of the legislation.

First, we see slight changes in the demographic makeup of JR facilities following the legislative changes, with the population skewing slightly older and being more likely to come in based on a felony, person-based offense. We find that individuals are engaged in more rehabilitative programming after the JR to 25 policy changes took effect. We also find an increase in reports signaling misbehavior, the issuing of incident reports and associated room confinement or isolation events after the policy changes. Across all our findings in this preliminary report, we cannot say whether observed differences before and after the legislative changes are due to JR to 25 or other factors.

A final evaluation is due to the legislature in December 2031.

Corey Whichard, Heather Grob, Paige Wanner, Nathan Adams - June 2024

The Reentry Community Services Program (RCSP) provides support services for adults leaving prison who have complex mental illness and who pose a danger to themselves or others. Individuals are eligible to receive up to 60 months of mental health services and housing assistance.

In this second and final report, we describe our findings that RCSP is associated with positive outcomes for participants, as well as positive monetary benefits for participants and others in society. We also find that the monetary costs of RCSP are higher than the expected long-term benefits. We found no evidence for promising features to add to the program that might increase its effectiveness.

We evaluated the RCSP by examining differences in reentry outcomes for a group of program participants and a comparison group of similar non-participants. We found that program participation is associated with improved outcomes, primarily during the first 6-12 months after prison release. During this period, RCSP participants were more likely to experience positive outcomes (e.g., mental health treatment and receipt of financial assistance) and less likely to experience negative outcomes (e.g., recidivism and homelessness).

We conducted a benefit-cost analysis and found that relative to the comparison group, the RCSP returns $0.57 per dollar spent. In other words, the cost of the RCSP exceeds the benefits we can estimate, in part because program success leads to increased state expenditures. We were unable to monetize a reduction in the risk of experiencing homelessness. We found limited evidence that extension of the RCSP to other populations would result in net monetary benefits to society.

Finally, we explored which components of reentry programs in the research literature are linked to reduced recidivism and could be modified in the current RCSP. Among the analyzed components, only medication assistance, already available in the RCSP, was associated with reductions in recidivism.

Cory Briar, Colin Gibson - June 2024

The 2023 Washington State Legislature tasked WSIPP with analyzing hospital staffing plans submitted to the Department of Health as required by RCW 70.41.420. Specifically, WSIPP was asked to evaluate the plans in terms of timeliness, completeness, format, and the maximum number of patients assigned to nursing staff, along with trends over time. WSIPP was also directed to review professional guidance on hospital staffing and to summarize hospital staffing policies in other jurisdictions.

We find that 75% of staffing plans are submitted on time to the Department of Health annually. Only around 26% of hospitals report the same units each year, but we are not able to determine whether plans are complete due to a lack of information on hospital department mergers, openings, and closures over time. The format in which staffing information is reported is largely determined by the type of hospital unit. We find that patient-to-registered nurse (RN) ratios are lowest in critical care, post-anesthesia care, and during labor and birth, where the most involved or life-saving care is administered. Patient-to-certified nursing assistant (CNA) ratios are much higher than for RNs. Rural areas tend to have lower patient-to-CNA ratios than urban areas, suggesting that rural hospitals are more dependent on CNAs to administer care to patients. Some types of units have fairly consistent RN and CNA staffing ratios throughout the state, whereas others are more diverse.

Professional nursing and hospital associations offer similar recommendations regarding long-term guidance to solve the national nurse shortage in the US. In terms of short-term guidance, nursing organizations generally favor fixed patient-to-nurse ratios, whereas hospitals emphasize the importance of flexible staffing at the hospital level.

Washington is one of 15 states that require hospitals to produce staffing plans. Ten states also require staffing committees composed of at least 50% direct care staff, similar to Washington. Seven states have maximum patient-to-RN ratios in at least some hospital unit types.

Rebecca Goodvin, Paige Wanner - March 2024

The 2013 Washington State Legislature passed a bill to facilitate the use of evidence-based programs in adult corrections. It also assigned WSIPP to create an inventory of evidence-based and research-based adult corrections programs.

The 2023 Legislature directed WSIPP to update the Adult Corrections Inventory, focusing on programs for incarcerated individuals in prison facilities. This update prioritizes adding programs offered by Washington’s Department of Corrections (DOC).

In this preliminary report, we identify programs currently offered in DOC prison facilities and indicate whether these programs have been evaluated in relation to recidivism. We identified 30 programs offered in one or more DOC facilities between 2014 and 2023 that have been evaluated but have not yet been classified on the Adult Corrections Inventory. We will review these programs for possible inclusion in the updated Inventory to be published in December 2024.

Julia Cramer, Colin Gibson, Chasya Hoagland - March 2024

Guided Pathways is a whole-college reform framework designed to help students in community and technical colleges choose academic paths and earn credentials or transfer on time. The 2021 Legislature directed WSIPP to conduct an evaluation of the implementation of Guided Pathways in Washington, identify evidence of its effectiveness, and examine student outcomes.

For this preliminary report, we surveyed community and technical colleges in Washington to understand early implementation of Guided Pathways. Thirty-three out of 34 colleges responded to our survey and reported implementing Guided Pathways to some extent.

We observed similarities in implementation across colleges, but overall, Guided Pathways varies from college to college. Many colleges started with mapping initiatives and added advising reforms. It was common for colleges to implement multiple initiatives together, particularly mapping, advising, and student support activities. Colleges reported increased collaboration after beginning Guided Pathways but noted that the COVID-19 pandemic, staff capacity, and data system changes all presented challenges to implementing reforms. Colleges also reported needing ongoing funding to support future Guided Pathways work.

We also received data from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges to examine student outcomes. We observed trends in retention, course completion, credit accumulation, and GPA outcomes for students in Guided Pathways (GP) and non-GP colleges (non-GP) between 2015 and 2019. These outcomes increased for students in both GP and non-GP colleges over time, and any differences between college groups were small. We cannot say if differences are due to Guided Pathways, other programs, college factors, or student populations. To date, there are no evaluations that demonstrate Guided Pathways’ causal impact on student outcomes.

WSIPP will publish a final report focusing on long-term student outcomes like degree completion, four-year institution transfer rates, employment, and earnings in December 2029.