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.

Irene Ngugi - December 2008

In 2008, the Washington State Legislature passed ESHB 2687 which directed the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) to conduct “a comprehensive analysis of math and science teacher supply and demand…” In collaboration with the Institute, the PESB was to “provide information from a study of differential pay for teachers in high-demand subject areas such as mathematics and science, including the design, successes, and limitations of differential pay programs in other states.”

We reviewed the national research literature on whether differential pay for teachers in math, science, or other high-demand teaching fields affects whether new teachers are attracted to the profession, or whether the attrition rate of existing teachers is reduced. Existing research on this specific topic is too thin to draw conclusions because there have been very few attempts to offer differential pay and, as a result, evaluation evidence is sparse. We therefore examined the broader question of how salary increases—for all teachers—affect the degree to which teachers leave the profession. We found higher teacher salaries do reduce attrition rates; the magnitude of the effect can be summarized as: a 10 percent increase in teacher salaries leads to a two-to-three percent decrease in teacher attrition rates.

Laura Schrager - December 2008

The 2006 Legislature passed 2SHB 2002, which allows youth who are over the age of 18 and have completed their secondary school education to remain in a licensed care setting as they pursue postsecondary academic or vocational training. This program, commonly known as Foster Care to 21 (FC to 21), began enrollment in July 2006; enrollment ends December 31, 2008. The Institute was directed to evaluate the program. This preliminary report finds that of the 85 youth who enrolled in FC to 21 prior to 2008, 25 (29 percent) were still enrolled, 6 (7 percent) had turned 21 or had completed their postsecondary program, and 54 (64 percent) were no longer enrolled. Thirty-nine (46 percent) stayed in FC to 21 for at least one year.

Laura Schrager - December 2008

The 2008 Legislature included a budget proviso for the Institute to survey foster youth and foster parents about how well current services are meeting needs of youth aging out of foster care. Of the 169 foster youth surveyed, 84 percent believed they were very or somewhat prepared to live on their own. In contrast, only 46 percent of foster parents (out of 194 surveyed) rated their foster children in these categories. Foster youth and parents identified money, work, and housing as challenges for transitioning youth; needed services identified by both groups include continued state support, Independent and Transitional Living provider services, and improved preparation of foster youth through more classes and support.

Amy Dworsky, Judy Havlicek - December 2008

The 2008 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to “conduct a national review of state programs for youth transitioning out of foster care” (ESHB 2687, Sec. 610.12). The review was to include a survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia that would focus on “eligibility requirements for continued foster care, age thresholds for transitioning services, types of services provided, and use of state funds to supplement federal” Chafee dollars. A contract to design the survey instrument and administer the survey was awarded to Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. The results of that survey are presented in this report.

Jim Mayfield - December 2008

In 2007, the Washington State Legislature enacted Senate Bill 5926 creating the Joint Task Force on the Underground Economy in the Construction Industry to “formulate a state policy to establish cohesion and transparency between state agencies so as to increase the oversight and regulation of the underground economy practices in the construction industry.” In addition, assisting in determining the extent of and costs associated with the underground construction economy, subsequent legislation in 2008 instructed the Institute to organize a committee to identify benchmarks to measure the effect of Task Force recommendations.

This preliminary report describes data (currently available or soon to be collected) that can be used to monitor the implementation of legislatively enacted policies associated with the Task Force’s recommendations. Because many of the activities enacted during the 2008 legislative session were not implemented until late summer or fall of 2008, the data presented here only represent a baseline against which to measure future outcomes. Data reflecting the first fiscal year of implementation will be available prior to the 2010 legislative session.