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Washington State Institute for Public Policy
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Subsidized guardianship (Title IV-E waivers)

Child Welfare
Benefit-cost methods last updated December 2024.  Literature review updated August 2017.
Subsidized guardianship is a permanent placement alternative that does not require termination of parental rights. A licensed foster parent may become the child’s legal guardian and continue to receive foster care payments. In addition to the outcomes reported here, three evaluations demonstrated a significant positive impact on placement permanency.
 
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 $1,571 Benefits minus costs $11,641
Participants $2,897 Benefit to cost ratio n/a
Others $252 Chance the program will produce
Indirect $2,495 benefits greater than the costs 99%
Total benefits $7,214
Net program cost $4,427
Benefits minus cost $11,641

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
Child abuse and neglect
Substantiated or founded reports to child protective services.
 14 2 1626 -0.096 0.100 14 -0.096 0.100 17 -0.096 0.335
Out-of-home placement
The removal of a child from parental care, most often to foster care.
 14 1 245 -0.434 0.119 14 -0.434 0.119 17 -0.434 0.001
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
Child abuse and neglect Criminal justice system $79 $0 $188 $39 $306
Child abuse and neglect $53 $505 $0 $26 $584
K-12 grade repetition $14 $0 $0 $7 $21
K-12 special education $48 $0 $0 $24 $73
Property loss associated with alcohol abuse or dependence $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Health care associated with PTSD $62 $17 $64 $31 $174
Labor market earnings associated with child abuse & neglect $1,008 $2,374 $0 $0 $3,382
Mortality associated with child abuse and neglect $0 $0 $0 $0 $1
Out-of-home placement Out-of-home placement $307 $0 $0 $154 $461
Program cost Adjustment for deadweight cost of program $0 $0 $0 $2,213 $2,213
Totals $1,571 $2,897 $252 $2,495 $7,214
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Detailed Annual Cost Estimates Per Participant
Annual cost Year dollars Summary
Program costs $21,870 2009 Present value of net program costs (in 2023 dollars) $4,427
Comparison costs $25,140 2009 Cost range (+ or -) 10%
This program is an alternative to long-term foster care. We computed the weighted average of comparison group and waiver group total costs from the two state evaluation reports included in our analysis (University of Iowa, 2010 and Testa et al., 2010). In this case, “annual cost” refers to the total average cost per case, regardless of the length of the case.
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

Testa, M.F., Slack, K.S., Gabel, G., Evans, M. & Cohen, L. (2010). Wisconsin subsidized guardianship assessment and evaluation: Final evaluation report. Rockville, MD: Westat.

University of Iowa School of Social Work. (2010). Evaluation of Iowa's subsidized guardianship program. Iowa City, IA: Author.