Comparative Review of Washington State Schools for Students With Sensory Disabilities: Version 2

Revised

The 2005 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to compare service delivery, financing, and governance of the Washington State School for the Blind (WSB) and School for the Deaf (WSD). This study updates and expands a 2002 review of WSD. This report presents comparison data on the two schools and identifies policy options for the future.

Click here for the 2002 report and its accompanying literature review.

Evidence-Based Treatment of Chemical Dependency, Mental Illness, and Co-Occurring Disorders: Benefits, Costs, and Fiscal Impacts—Interim Report

The 2005 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to examine the following questions:

• Can evidence-based treatment for people with mental health and chemical dependency disorders save money for state and local governments?
• Viewed more broadly, do total benefits outweigh total costs?

The specific assigned task is to project state and local fiscal savings and other impacts of evidence-based treatments for those with chemical dependency disorders, mental illness, or both. This interim report summarizes the research approach and work currently underway. A final report will be presented to the Legislature by June 30, 2006.

Has Community Notification Reduced Recidivism?

This report examines the influence of sex offender registration and community notification statutes on recidivism.

Notification Levels and Recidivism

This report examines how well the DOC End of Sentence Review Committee's notification levels predict recidivism.

Report Series Highlights

This presentation highlights key findings from the study series as of December 2005.

Evaluating Washington State's Community Jobs Program: Two-Year Employment Outcomes of 2002 Enrollees

Community Jobs is a Washington State WorkFirst program that places Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) clients into subsidized minimum wage jobs for up to six months. Community-based and tribal contractors provide intensive case management and seek to place clients in unsubsidized jobs. This evaluation compares the outcomes of 2,500 clients enrolled in Community Jobs in 2002 with a similar group of TANF clients who did not participate in the program. Several measures of unsubsidized employment were examined four to eight quarters after enrollment. The study found that 66 percent of enrollees were employed at least once during the follow-up period compared with 58 percent of non-participants. In any given quarter, employment rates for enrollees were 14 to 24 percent higher than non-participants. Enrollees, particularly women without recent work experience, were more likely to be continuously employed. Community Jobs is most effective for enrollees without recent work experience and more effective, over the long term, for women than men. In general, outcomes associated with Community Jobs are comparable to those provided by other WorkFirst programs even though Community Jobs serves clients who are harder to employ.

Criminal Justice Involvement Among Clients Receiving Public Mental Health Services

The 2002 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to conduct a longitudinal study on the outcomes of state-funded mental health clients to identify best practices in provision of public mental health services. Two preliminary reports from February 2004 and March 2005 provided baseline information on clients’ demographic characteristics, employment, living situation, selected mental health conditions, criminal justice involvement, mental health functioning assessment scores, use of mental health services, and on caseloads of regional support networks. This report provides details of baseline information for criminal justice involvement, one of the outcomes measures stipulated by the legislature. An outcomes report showing changes between 2002 and 2004 will be completed by the end of 2005.

Related study: Evaluating Washington State's Community Jobs Program: Two-Year Employment Outcomes of 2002 Enrollees

Employment Characteristics of Clients Receiving Public Mental Health Services

The 2002 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to conduct a longitudinal study on the outcomes of state-funded mental health clients to identify best practices in provision of public mental health services. Two preliminary reports from February 2004 and March 2005 provided baseline information on clients’ demographic characteristics, employment, living situation, selected mental health conditions, criminal justice involvement, mental health functioning assessment scores, use of mental health services, and on caseloads of regional support networks. This report provides details of baseline information on employment outcomes, one of the outcomes measures stipulated by the legislature. An outcomes report showing changes between 2002 and 2004 will be completed by the end of 2005.

Related study: Criminal Justice Involvement Among Clients Receiving Public Mental Health Services

How Sex Offenders Differ From Other Felony Offenders

This report describes how offenders sentenced in Washington State superior court for felony sex offenses differ from those sentenced for other felony offenses.

Initial Sentencing Decision

This report describes how sex offenders sentenced to prison, jail/community supervision, and SSOSA differ.