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Washington State Institute for Public Policy
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Parenting Inside Out (during incarceration)

Adult Criminal Justice
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated May 2024.
Parenting Inside Out (PIO) is a manualized cognitive-behavioral parent management skills program for incarcerated adults with young children (typically ages 3-11). The PIO curriculum focuses on parenting skills such as communication, problem-solving, monitoring, positive reinforcement, and nonviolent discipline. By building these skills, PIO seeks to address specific family needs around co-parenting and family reunification, child development and individual needs, and maintaining parent-child connections while incarcerated. PIO is conducted in prisons for groups of incarcerated parents who volunteer to participate. Program classes are 2.5 hours long and take place three times per week over four months. PIO is facilitated by professional coaches who receive training and supervision.
 
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 $330 Benefits minus costs $188
Participants $93 Benefit to cost ratio $1.37
Others $341 Chance the program will produce
Indirect ($64) benefits greater than the costs 49%
Total benefits $700
Net program cost ($512)
Benefits minus cost $188

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

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

‡The effect size for this outcome indicates an incidence rate ratio (IRR), not a standardized mean difference effect size. An IRR less than one indicates a lower rate of the outcome in the treatment group relative to the comparison group; an IRR greater than one indicates a higher rate of the outcome. The treatment n for this outcome represents person-years.

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.
 31 1 194 0.631 0.057 32 n/a n/a n/a 0.631 0.001
Substance use disorder‡^
A non-specified alcohol or drug use disorder. Typically, a collection of different types of disorders reported by study authors. 
 31 1 194 1.070 0.063 33 n/a n/a n/a 1.070 0.251
Major depressive disorder
Clinical diagnosis of major depression or symptoms measured on a validated scale.
 31 1 194 -0.208 0.106 33 -0.108 0.130 35 -0.208 0.050
Parental stress^
Stress reported by a parent, typically measured on a validated scale such as the Parental Stress Index. 
 31 1 194 -0.208 0.106 33 n/a n/a n/a -0.208 0.050
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 Health care associated with major depression $330 $93 $341 $165 $930
Mortality associated with depression $0 $0 $0 $26 $26
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 ($256) ($256)
Totals $330 $93 $341 ($64) $700
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Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $478 2024 Present value of net program costs (in 2023 dollars) ($512)
Comparison costs $0 2024 Cost range (+ or -) 10%
The per-participant cost estimate was provided by the Washington State Department of Corrections. The estimate includes instructor time and training, class materials, and graduation refreshments and supplies. Instructor costs are based on delivering a 3-month program (7 hours per week) at a rate of $51 per hour (salary and benefits) for DOC Corrections Specialist staff delivering this program. It assumes an average group size of 15.
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

Eddy, J.M., Martinez, C.R., & Burraston, B. (2013). VI. A randomized controlled trial of a parent management training program for incarcerated parents: Proximal impacts. Monographs- Society for Research in Child Development, 78(3), 75-93.

Eddy, J.M., Martinez Jr, C.R., Burraston, B.O., Herrera, D., & Newton, R.M. (2022). A randomized controlled trial of a parent management training program for incarcerated parents: Post-release outcomes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(8), 4605.