Washington's Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative: An Evaluation of Benefits and Costs

The Washington State legislature directed the Institute to evaluate whether the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative (DOSA) influences recidivism rates and whether the benefits of DOSA outweigh the costs. We analyzed the effects of the legislation by comparing a group of offenders who received DOSA sentences with a similar group of offenders sentenced prior to the 1999 implementation date of DOSA. As described in the report, our overall finding is that DOSA is an effective criminal justice policy for drug offenders but neutral for drug-involved property offenders.

English Language Learners in K-12: Trends, Policies, and Research in Washington State

The 2004 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to review the state Transitional Bilingual Instructional Program (TBIP). The Institute interviewed TBIP staff at the state and school district levels; analyzed student enrollment and assessment data; and reviewed laws, policies, and research on instruction for English language learners (ELL students) in the public K–12 school system.

Washington State’s Family Integrated Transitions Program for Juvenile Offenders: Outcome Evaluation and Benefit-Cost Analysis

In 2000, the Washington State Legislature initiated a pilot rehabilitation program for juvenile offenders sentenced to a state juvenile justice institution. The program focuses on offenders with “co-occurring” substance abuse and mental health disorders. Offenders with both of these conditions are known to pose a high risk for committing new crimes upon re-entry to the community. The program—called the Family Integrated Transitions (FIT) program—was designed and implemented by Eric Trupin, Ph.D., and David Stewart, Ph.D., from the University of Washington. The program uses a combination of evidence-based approaches tailored to the particular needs of these high-risk youth. In this report, we present findings on the effectiveness of FIT in reducing recidivism, as well as an analysis of the program’s benefits and costs.

Alternative Routes to Teacher Certification in Washington State: Final Report

Washington’s alternative routes to teacher certification were created by the 2001 Legislature. These routes provide an avenue—other than enrolling in a teacher training program at a college or university—for professionals in other fields and classified school staff to become teachers. The Legislature directed the Institute to evaluate the programs created by the law. This final report describes the initial programs as established in 2002–03, outlines major changes that have occurred in the intervening two years, and looks at how well the programs met the legislative objectives.

In-depth descriptions of the individual programs and responses to surveys are published separately in the appendix.

Outcome Evaluations of Washington State's WorkFirst Program: Key Findings

WorkFirst, Washington State’s implementation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), began in April 1997. TANF is a major change in how the state assists low-income families. The program helps parents look for work and provides employment-specific training and basic education opportunities. A number of independent analyses have attempted to estimate employment, earnings, and other outcomes directly attributable to the overall program or to specific program activities, such as Job Search, Community Jobs, Customized Job Skills Training, and Post-Employment Services. This report summarizes the key findings of these analyses.

Preserving and Providing Access to Washington Women's History

The 2004 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to make recommendations regarding the development of a state women’s history organization. Based on extensive consultations, the Institute recommends creation of a women’s history consortium with the Washington State Historical Society as the host organization. Initially, the consortium would focus on compiling and disseminating online information about materials involving Washington women’s history and identifying significant gaps in existing collections.

Washington's Juvenile Basic Training Camp: Outcome Evaluation

The 1994 Washington State Legislature created the juvenile offender basic training camp located in Connell, Franklin County. The Department of Social and Health Services’ Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration designed and implemented the Basic Training Camp (BTC) and contracted with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to determine whether the basic training camp program reduces recidivism and is cost beneficial to taxpayers and crime victims. This evaluation compares youth who were eligible for the BTC but were admitted to JRA in 1997, two years prior to the start of the camp, with youth admitted to the BTC between 1998 and 2002.

Impact and Effectiveness of Washington State's Current Sex Offender Sentencing Policies: Research Design

This report describes the research design for a legislatively directed study of Washington State's sex offender policies and programs.

Sentences for Adult Felons in Washington: Options to Address Prison Overcrowding – Part II (Recidivism Analyses)

The 2003 Washington State Legislature directed the Institute to analyze how sentences for adult felons affect the state’s prison population. Our task is to determine whether policy changes to Washington’s sentencing structure could reduce the growth in the prison population without jeopardizing public safety. Our findings are published in three parts. Part I, published in March 2004, reviewed the sentencing structure for Washington and examined the growth of the prison population. Part III will summarize the study’s findings. This report, Part II, examines the statistically estimated impact of imprisonment and sentence lengths on recidivism. That is, do offenders sentenced to prison, and those who receive longer prison sentences, recidivate more or less often than similar offenders not sentenced to prison or who receive shorter sentences? Can these policy levers be adjusted to reduce prison populations without adversely affecting public safety?

Benefits and Costs of Prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth

Updated September 17, 2004

Does prevention pay? Can an ounce of prevention avoid (at least) an ounce of cure? More specifically for public policy purposes, is there credible scientific evidence that for each dollar a legislature spends on “research-based” prevention or early intervention programs for youth, more than a dollar’s worth of benefits will be generated? If so, what are the policy options that offer taxpayers the best return on their dollar? These are among the ambitious questions the 2003 Washington State Legislature assigned the Washington State Institute for Public Policy. This report describes our findings and provides an overview of how we conducted the analysis.

The “summary report” link contains a summary of findings. Appendix A contains a full description of our results and methods, and Appendix B lists the references used in the study. We publish updates whenever significant new results become available.