Robert Barnoski - September 2005

This report addresses how accurately the type of sentence can be determined by combining the case attributes using multivariate analyses.

Robert Barnoski - September 2005

This report examines the feasibility of using arrests recorded in the Washington State Patrol (WSP) database as a measure of sex offender recidivism.

Robert Barnoski - September 2005

This report examines the extent to which the original charges filed in a Washington State Superior Court felony sex offense case differ from the final convictions.

Robert Barnoski - August 2005

This introduction describes the sentencing process, study questions, and data sources.

Robert Barnoski - August 2005

This report explains the rationale for the selected follow-up and adjudication periods used to measure recidivism.

Robert Barnoski - August 2005

This report describes the recidivism rates of Washington State sex offenders.

Steve Aos, Robert Barnoski - July 2005

The 1999 Washington State Legislature passed the Offender Accountability Act (OAA) to affect how the state provides community supervision to adult felony offenders. To determine whether the OAA results in lower recidivism rates, the Legislature directed the Institute to evaluate the impact of the Act. This report provides an initial opportunity to examine the effect of the OAA's first year of operation on short-run recidivism rates.

Polly Phipps, Bill Luchansky - May 2005

The 2000 Legislature provided for the distribution of “atypical antipsychotic” medications to underserved populations with psychiatric disorders. Pierce County Regional Support Network (Pierce RSN) and Harborview Mental Health Services (HMHS) were participants in this pilot program, serving 282 and 192 clients, respectively. Both programs fulfilled the legislative requirements, serving a severely mentally ill population with few resources. The programs provided temporary access to medications, helping to fill the funding gap between the time a low-income person needs medication until a Medicaid coupon or an alternative medication funding source becomes available. Many participants transitioned onto Medicaid: approximately 40 percent of participants in both programs were Medicaid eligible in state records six months after the program ended. Nearly two-thirds of program participants stayed in the program for no more than two months.

The only feasible research design was a comparison of participants before and after the program. This design does not allow scientific conclusions about a program’s effectiveness. Comparing the year prior to and after program entry, Pierce RSN participants showed fewer felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions and psychiatric hospital admissions and increased participation in outpatient services; no improvement in employment status was found. HMHS participants had increased participation in outpatient services, showed slightly fewer felony convictions, but no improvement in misdemeanor convictions, psychiatric hospitalizations, or employment status

Marna Miller, Jim Mayfield - May 2005

Between 2002 and 2004, the Working Connections Child Care caseload fell by 13 percent. Until recently, the declines were attributed to cost saving measures implemented in 2002 and 2003. A recent report by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) found that caseload declines occurred only in unlicensed child care and suggests that new policies regarding criminal background checks of in-home/relative providers might be the primary reason for the caseload reductions.

To determine if there is a causal link between criminal background check policies and the caseload declines, the Institute conducted a statistical analysis of data combined from multiple administrative data systems. After controlling for family characteristics, type of child care used, employment, and the welfare caseload, the analysis revealed several significant impacts attributable to criminal background check policies.

Findings: Requiring a criminal background check per se did not affect the child care caseload. However, recent changes to policies and procedures regarding the timing and scope of background checks have: discouraged the use of in-home/relative care; contributed strongly to the decline in caseload; and disproportionately affected families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Robert Barnoski - May 2005

This presentation describes Washington State's experiences implementing research-based programs in juvenile justice. The presentation includes a history of the research-based effort in Washington State, program outcome evaluations, quality assurance principles, and cost benefit meta-analyses. Presented at the Los Angles County Juvenile Justice Conference May 19, 2005. Robert Barnoski.