Jim Mayfield, Annie Pennucci, Courtney Lyon - June 2002

Kinship care is the full-time care of children by relatives, either informally (without the involvement of public child welfare agencies) or formally (when public child welfare agencies are involved in placing children with relatives). An estimated 32,000 children, or one out of 50 children in Washington State, are in kinship care. Based on surveys and interviews of relative caregivers and the experiences of other states, this report describes the prevalence, challenges, and needs of kinship caregivers in Washington State and provides policy options to address those needs. Also available are two technical appendices providing detail on the challenges and needs of kinship caregivers: (1) Kinship Care Needs Assessment: Focus Group Results. Prepared by the Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, Washington State University. (2) Washington State Relative Caregivers Survey: Final Analysis.

Polly Phipps, Gregg Gagliardi - March 2002

In 1999, the Washington State Legislature enacted Substitute Senate Bill 5011 to improve the process of identifying and providing additional mental health treatment for mentally ill offenders being released from the Department of Corrections who pose a threat to public safety. This report focuses on the implementation of the Act and includes an assessment of how the process of defining, identifying, and selecting "dangerous mentally ill offenders" (DMIOs) has been carried out. The report also describes the treatment and services provided to an early group of released DMIOs.

Anita Kay - March 2002

In 1999, the Legislature created two new programs for street youth with no family support:  HOPE Centers and Responsible Living Skills Programs.  This second interim report focuses on program implementation issues, characteristics of youth served, and services provided during the first two program years.  It also previews the final report to be delivered by December 2002.

Steve Aos - January 2002

In 1999, the Legislature passed the Offender Accountability Act (OAA). Fundamentally, the OAA concerns economics; that is, it affects how the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) spends its budget. It directs DOC to focus more resources on higher-risk offenders and - because state agency budgets must balance - to spend fewer dollars on lower-risk offenders. The Institute was directed by the Legislature to “conduct a study of the effect of the use of community custody…on recidivism and other outcomes.” In this report, we evaluate the implementation of one cornerstone of the OAA: the formal process DOC is using to assess the risk levels of offenders - DOC’s “Risk Management Identification” (RMI) system. This report tests the degree to which the RMI system measures what the Legislature intended. We analyzed the first substantial group of offenders classified by DOC. We found that DOC’s RMI system does a reasonable job of classifying offenders pursuant to the policy directives of the OAA.

Polly Phipps, Bill Luchansky, Mina Halpern - January 2002

The 2000 Legislature passed Second Substitute House Bill 2663, providing for the distribution of atypical antipsychotic medications to underserved populations who present a risk of harm to themselves and the community. This interim report provides descriptive statistics on the programs, the participants, and preliminary access and funding results.

Kay Knapp - December 2001

The 1999 Legislature directed the Institute for Public Policy to review the procedures established by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to report missing children to the Missing Children Clearinghouse (MCC) and any impediments to effective utilization of those procedures.  This report also describes the operation of the MCC and reviews public education and public awareness regarding missing children. 

Mason Burley, Jim Mayfield - December 2001

In 1995, Washington State implemented policies for at-risk youth intended to protect children and help families reconcile. Known as the "Becca Bill," the policies include court intervention for at-risk youth and provisions for mandatory treatment of youth with chemical dependency problems. The bill established secure crisis residential centers (CRCs), which prevent youth from leaving CRCs without parent or staff permission. During their stays in secure CRCs, youth and their families are referred to counseling and treatment services. The 2000 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to examine outcomes for Becca youth.

Jim Mayfield - November 2001

In the spring of 2001, the Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to recommend how Washington could consider adding a targeted, stand-alone higher education component to the WorkFirst program in a way that is cost-neutral and consistent with the WorkFirst philosophy. This report examines other states’ practices, federal TANF regulations, and research regarding welfare and higher education.

Steve Lerch - November 2001

With the continued growth in state health care expenditures, interest in cost containment remains high. This report identifies one area where expenditure reductions may be possible: avoidable hospitalizations. Initial research indicates that potentially unnecessary hospitalizations in Washington are an issue for the federal Medicare program, private insurers, and for the state's Medicaid program. Based on the findings in this paper, the Institute will undertake a more comprehensive examination of avoidable hospitalizations for Medicaid recipients.

Mason Burley, Mina Halpern - November 2001

Over 12,000 school-age children in Washington State lived in foster care sometime during the past 12 months because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, or family conflict.  While the health and safety of these children are of primary concern, the educational attainment of foster children will also greatly impact their ability to succeed as adults.  This study finds that at both the elementary and secondary levels, the educational attainment of foster students in Washington falls significantly behind other students.  Furthermore, foster students are likely to experience additional risk factors related to poor school outcomes.  As directed by the Legislature, this study also suggests alternatives for sharing information about the educational experiences of foster students.

For an updated analysis on the educational attainment of foster youth using the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), see this March 2008 report.