skip to main content
Washington State Institute for Public Policy
Back Button

Beyond Violence (during incarceration)

Adult Criminal Justice
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated February 2024.
Beyond Violence is a gender-specific curriculum for women currently incarcerated for violent or aggressive offenses. The program is intended to reduce or prevent violence and to address issues of mental health, substance use disorder, trauma histories, and anger regulation. The curriculum includes interactive exercises based on cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness, relational, and experiential therapeutic approaches. Lessons are organized into four modules: self, relationships, community, and society. Small groups of women meet with a facilitator for 20 two-hour sessions over ten weeks. Studies in this meta-analysis include evaluations of Beyond Violence implemented during incarceration and facilitated by either a clinical professional or a trained peer. Study participants either volunteered for the program or were mandated to complete programming specific to individuals convicted of a violent offense.
 
ALL
BENEFIT-COST
META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS
For an overview of WSIPP's Benefit-Cost Model, please see this guide. The estimates shown are present value, life cycle benefits and costs. All dollars are expressed in the base year chosen for this analysis (2023).  The chance the benefits exceed the costs are derived from a Monte Carlo risk analysis. The details on this, as well as the economic discount rates and other relevant parameters are described in our Technical Documentation.
Benefit-Cost Summary Statistics Per Participant
Benefits to:
Taxpayers $3,094 Benefits minus costs $9,738
Participants $5,918 Benefit to cost ratio $45.67
Others $682 Chance the program will produce
Indirect $263 benefits greater than the costs 94%
Total benefits $9,956
Net program cost ($218)
Benefits minus cost $9,738

^WSIPP’s benefit-cost model does not monetize this outcome.

^^WSIPP does not include this outcome when conducting benefit-cost analysis for this program.

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured Treatment age No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) used in the benefit-cost analysis Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
First time ES is estimated Second time ES is estimated
ES SE Age ES SE Age ES p-value
Crime^
Any criminal conviction according to court records, sometimes measured through charges, arrests, incarceration, or self-report.
 37 1 19 -1.038 0.481 38 -1.038 0.481 46 -1.038 0.031
Technical violations^^
Violations of the conditions of an individual’s terms of probation, parole, or supervision.
 37 1 19 0.000 0.339 38 0.000 0.339 46 0.000 1.000
Anxiety disorder
Clinical diagnosis of an anxiety disorder (e.g., general anxiety, panic, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder) or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 37 2 79 -0.603 0.173 37 -0.314 0.212 39 -0.603 0.001
Major depressive disorder
Clinical diagnosis of major depression or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 37 2 79 -0.402 0.171 37 -0.209 0.209 39 -0.402 0.018
Post-traumatic stress
Clinical diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 37 2 79 -0.361 0.170 37 -0.361 0.170 38 -0.361 0.034
Illicit drug use disorder^^
Clinical diagnosis of illicit drug use disorder or symptoms measured on a validated scale. When possible, we exclude cannabis/marijuana use disorder from this outcome.
 37 1 19 -0.662 0.464 38 0.000 0.187 41 -0.662 0.153
Anger or aggression^
Self-reported anger or aggression measured on a validated scale.
37 2 79 -0.362 0.171 37 n/a n/a n/a -0.362 0.034
1In addition to the outcomes measured in the meta-analysis table, WSIPP measures benefits and costs estimated from other outcomes associated with those reported in the evaluation literature. For example, empirical research demonstrates that high school graduation leads to reduced crime. These associated measures provide a more complete picture of the detailed costs and benefits of the program.

2“Others” includes benefits to people other than taxpayers and participants. Depending on the program, it could include reductions in crime victimization, the economic benefits from a more educated workforce, and the benefits from employer-paid health insurance.

3“Indirect benefits” includes estimates of the net changes in the value of a statistical life and net changes in the deadweight costs of taxation.
Detailed Monetary Benefit Estimates Per Participant
Affected outcome: Resulting benefits:1 Benefits accrue to:
Taxpayers Participants Others2 Indirect3 Total
Major depressive disorder Mortality associated with depression $0 $1 $0 $42 $43
Anxiety disorder Labor market earnings associated with anxiety disorder $2,432 $5,730 $0 $0 $8,162
Post-traumatic stress Health care associated with PTSD $661 $187 $682 $330 $1,860
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 ($109) ($109)
Totals $3,094 $5,918 $682 $263 $9,956
Click here to see populations selected
Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $424 2023 Present value of net program costs (in 2023 dollars) ($218)
Comparison costs $206 2023 Cost range (+ or -) 20%
The per-participant cost estimate is based on delivering a 50-hour program at a rate of $77 per hour (salary and benefits) for DOC Psychology Associate staff delivering this program and assumes a typical group size of ten participants. Hourly rate, program hours, and typical group size were provided by DOC. We also include a $44 per-participant cost for the Beyond Violence Participant’s Workbook and facilitator materials (this cost assumes ten participants per group and four groups per year). Comparison group costs are computed in a similar manner based on treatment received in the studies (no treatment or standard group treatment).
The figures shown are estimates of the costs to implement programs in Washington. The comparison group costs reflect either no treatment or treatment as usual, depending on how effect sizes were calculated in the meta-analysis. The cost range reported above reflects potential variation or uncertainty in the cost estimate; more detail can be found in our Technical Documentation.
Benefits Minus Costs
Benefits by Perspective
Taxpayer Benefits by Source of Value
Benefits Minus Costs Over Time (Cumulative Discounted Dollars)
The graph above illustrates the estimated cumulative net benefits per-participant for the first fifty years beyond the initial investment in the program. We present these cash flows in discounted dollars. If the dollars are negative (bars below $0 line), the cumulative benefits do not outweigh the cost of the program up to that point in time. The program breaks even when the dollars reach $0. At this point, the total benefits to participants, taxpayers, and others, are equal to the cost of the program. If the dollars are above $0, the benefits of the program exceed the initial investment.

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Kubiak, S.P., Kim, W.J., Fedock, G., & Bybee, D. (2015). Testing a violence-prevention intervention for incarcerated women using a randomized control trial. Research on Social Work Practice, 25(3), 334-348.

Kubiak, S., Fedock, G., Kim, W.J., & Bybee, D. (2016) Long-term outcomes of a RCT intervention study for women with violent crimes. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 7(4), 661-679.

Messina, N.P. & Calhoun, S. (2021). An experimental study of a peer-facilitated violence prevention program for women in prison. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(17-18).