Elizabeth Drake, Robert Barnoski - November 2008

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

The 2003 Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to evaluate whether the enacted changes in earned release have affected recidivism rates. This report is divided into four sections: background information,evaluation design, recidivism findings, and cost-benefit analysis.

Mason Burley - October 2008

In 2001, the Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to conduct a study of the long-term outcomes of the state’s more than 120,000 public mental health consumers. In Washington, community mental health services are overseen by 13 Regional Support Networks (RSNs) under contract with the state Division of Mental Health.

The purpose of this report is to examine regional variations—related to client characteristics, availability of services, patterns of service utilization, and the extent of evidence-based practices—and lay the groundwork for future analyses of long-term outcomes among adult consumers of mental health services in Washington State.

Annie Pennucci, Steve Aos, Irene Ngugi - September 2008

This report summarizes the four comprehensive funding options presented to the Task Force to date, including proposed timelines for phasing in new funding structures. This report also describes the methodology the Institute is developing to project impacts on student outcomes under alternative funding structures. A list of all the comprehensive proposals that were submitted can be found on the Task Force website.

Laura Schrager - September 2008

An FY 09 proviso in the supplemental budget calls for the Institute to review state programs for youth transitioning out of foster care, and identify how well current services are meeting the needs of youth aging out of foster care to independence. In this preliminary report, we describe the activities the Institute is undertaking to conduct the analysis. The final report is due to be completed by December 31, 2008.

Stephanie Lee, Steve Aos, Marna Miller - July 2008

The 2007 Washington Legislature directed the Institute to estimate whether “evidence-based” programs and policies can “reduce the likelihood of children entering and remaining in the child welfare system, including both prevention and intervention programs.” In this report, we study three basic questions: Is there evidence that specific programs “work” to improve these outcomes? If so, do benefits outweigh program costs? Finally, what would be the total net gain to Washington if these evidence-based programs were implemented more widely?

To answer these questions, we systematically reviewed the “what works” literature regarding programs and policies that affect child welfare outcomes. We then estimated the monetary value of the benefits, including factors such as reduced child welfare system expenditures, reduced costs to the victims of child maltreatment, improved educational and labor market performance, and reduced crime-related costs.

Jim Mayfield, Mason Burley - July 2008

In 2006, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services established two pilot sites for the Integrated Crisis Response Program. At these sites, Designated Crisis Responders (DCR) investigate and have authority to detain individuals with serious mental illness or substance abuse problems. Elsewhere in the state, this function is conducted separately by mental health professionals and chemical dependency specialists. The pilots also created secure detox facilities to hold involuntarily detained individuals. This report describes outcomes of clients admitted to these secure detox facilities. Due to the preliminary nature of this study and the challenge of identifying an adequate comparison group, these findings should not be considered final.

Laura Schrager - July 2008

This report presents preliminary information on the implementation of the Foster Care to College (FCTC) mentoring program in Washington State. This pilot program, modeled on King County's Treehouse mentoring program for foster youth, expands the availability of education-focused mentoring to foster youth in all regions of the state.

This preliminary report reviews the background of the program, describes the program, discusses implementation issues experienced in the first 18 months of the program, and suggests potential program modifications.

Tali Klima, Roxanne Lieb - June 2008

This paper reviews policies and practices regarding assessment of sex offenders for risk of reoffense among public agencies and private treatment providers in Washington State. Specifically, we reviewed the use of risk assessment instruments, which gauge the likelihood that individual sex offenders will reoffend.

We found that a diverse set of instruments are employed by public and private entities in making decisions about sex offenders. These decisions include sentencing, facility assignment, treatment, release, public notification, and community supervision. As expected, there was greater variability in risk assessment practices among private treatment providers than public agencies.

Marna Miller - June 2008

The 2007 Legislature created the Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee to study disproportion in Washington’s child welfare system, and directed the Institute to conduct analyses for the Committee. The initial analysis found that Indian, Black, and Hispanic children referred to Child Protective Services (CPS) in the 2004 study year were present in the system at rates greater than White children, and that Asian children were under-represented in the child welfare system. Further analysis determined that most of the disproportionality occurred at point of referral to CPS alleging abuse or neglect. Controlling for poverty, geography, age of the child, and other factors using regression analysis still indicated disproportionality at many points in the child welfare system.

Robert Barnoski - May 2008

The Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA) within the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services contracted with the Institute to determine if an empirically valid risk assessment for sexual reoffending could be developed using data from the Intensive Parole Supervision Assessment (IPSA). This report summarizes our findings.