Janie Maki, Roxanne Lieb - June 2009

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy conducts non-partisan policy research for the state of Washington. Originally conceived in 1982, the organization’s governance structure and operating practices have evolved over time. This paper reviews the history of the Institute’s structure and mission.

Elizabeth Drake, Steve Aos, Marna Miller - April 2009

In 2006, long-term forecasts indicated that Washington faced the need to construct several new prisons in the following two decades. Since new prisons are costly, the legislature directed the Institute to project whether there are “evidence-based” options that can reduce the future need for prison beds, save money for state and local taxpayers, and contribute to lower crime rates. As part of a systematic review of the research evidence, we found and analyzed 545 comparison-group evaluations of adult corrections, juvenile corrections, and prevention programs to determine what works, if anything, to reduce crime. We then estimated the benefits and costs of many of these evidence-based options and found that some evidence-based programs produce favorable returns on investment. This paper presents our findings and describes our meta-analytic and economic methods.

Elizabeth Drake, Robert Barnoski, Steve Aos - April 2009

The 2003 Washington State Legislature passed ESSB 5990, which increased “earned early release time” for certain types of offenders. The bill authorizes the Washington State Department of Corrections to release certain eligible offenders earlier if they have demonstrated good behavior in prison.

The Institute was directed by the Legislature to evaluate the effect of the 2003 law. Our overall recidivism findings remain consistent with those in the original November 2008 report; we strengthened the cost-benefit analysis for this revised version and find that the law generates benefits of $1.88 per dollar of cost.

Mason Burley - April 2009

The 2001 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to analyze the outcomes of public mental health consumers. This report examines the relationship between public mental health services and mental health-related hospitalizations and emergency departments. In 2007, one out of five adult hospital stays involved a mental health or substance abuse (MHSA) diagnosis in Washington State. A greater percentage of MHSA-related hospitalizations come from the emergency department and a disproportionate number are paid for by Medicare or Medicaid. Among Medicaid clients, those with frequent or high-cost emergency department visits are more likely to have an MHSA diagnosis. This report also explores the extent to which these clients may receive treatment from the public mental health system. Given the close relationship between these two systems, potential costs to public mental health and the state’s community hospitals should be evaluated as new mental health policies are considered and adopted in Washington State.

Marna Miller - April 2009

The 2008 Legislature directed the Institute to collect information on how well current services are meeting the needs of youth aging out of foster care. A survey was conducted of Independent and Transitional Living Programs that provided services to foster youth as they prepared for and transitioned to independent living. During this year a total of $372,253 was distributed to the approximately 1,200 participating youth. Over 300 of this population received funds for housing support.

Jim Mayfield, Stephanie Lee - April 2009

In 2007, by legislative direction, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services’ Mental Health Division established the Thurston-Mason Children’s Mental Health Evidence-Based Practice Pilot Project (the Pilot) to provide evidence-based mental health services to children. Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST) is the first evidence-based practice chosen for the Pilot. The Pilot enrolled 114 youth in MST between April 2007 and December 2008. The majority of these children (69 percent) were referred from the juvenile justice and public mental health systems; 14 percent were referred from the state’s child welfare system; the remaining referrals were from schools or other local partner agencies. The Legislature also directed the Institute to study the Pilot. Using linked administrative data from multiple state agencies, we produced a profile of the first 103 youth served by the program.

We found that 96 percent of youth enrolled in MST had prior involvement in at least one state system associated with juvenile justice, child welfare, or mental health; 70 percent of youth enrolled in MST had felony or misdemeanor convictions (50 percent had a history of detention); and 30 percent of enrolled youth had referrals to Child Protective Services that were accepted for investigation. Most (89 percent) youth enrolled in MST were previously enrolled in the public mental health system; the Pilot’s MST program is serving its target population. Subject to funding, a report on outcomes associated with enrollment in MST will be published in December 2009.

Elizabeth Drake, Robert Barnoski - March 2009

The 1999 Offender Accountability Act (OAA) affects how the Department of Corrections (DOC) supervises convicted felony offenders in the community. The Institute was directed by the legislature to evaluate the OAA. The OAA requires DOC to supervise offenders according to their risk for future offending, which is estimated using instruments that classify offenders into groups with similar characteristics.

The Institute developed a "static risk" instrument, which DOC began using as part of its Risk Level Classification (RLC) system in 2008. This new system replaced DOC's previous Risk Management Identification (RMI) system, which had been in use since the OAA was implemented. Comparing recidivism rates of offenders classified under the new RLC and the old RMI systems, this report finds the new system to have better predictive accuracy than the prior system.

Jim Mayfield - February 2009

In 1999, legislation was passed to better identify and provide additional mental health treatment for mentally ill offenders who were released from prison, who pose a threat to public safety, and agree to participate in the program. A “Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender” (DMIO) is defined by the legislation as a person with a mental disorder who has been determined to be dangerous to self or others.

As part of its legislative mandate, the Institute has published a series of reports that evaluate the DMIO program. Reports published in 2005, 2007, and 2008 demonstrated that the DMIO program significantly reduced felony recidivism, and this 2009 follow-up report finds that reductions in felony recidivism were sustained at the 4-year mark. The benefit-cost analysis in this report indicates that the reductions in DMIO recidivism generated greater financial benefits than program costs—a ratio of approximately $1.64 in benefits for every public dollar spent.

Tali Klima, Marna Miller, Corey Nunlist - February 2009

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy was directed by the legislature to study implementation of the truancy laws in school districts and courts in the state. In this report, we focus on school district petition filing rates, factors that predict district filing rates, reasons for not filing petitions, the contempt process, and district costs for the court process. The findings are based on a statewide survey of school districts, Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) data, and analysis of court records.

The data reveal that, statewide, districts file truancy petitions for 32 percent of students who are legally eligible based on repeated unexcused absences. However, rates of filing vary widely among districts. Higher filing rates are predicted by smaller district size, lower percentage of minority students in the district, and a willingness on the part of the district to file a petition prior to the legal requirement. Statewide district costs for the truancy court process were estimated at $2.7 million annually. This figure is 1.5 times the $1.8 million allocated by the state in the 2007-08 school year.

Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance - January 2009

The final report includes, among others, recommended levels of funding, compensation, and staffing; enhancements for special education, struggling students, and early learning; and direction on levy equalization, data reporting, and accountability and oversight. The report provides guidance on phase-in and projects the expected effect of the recommended investment.