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The Family Resource Wage Progression Model (FRWP) calculates federal tax liability, earned income tax credits, food stamp benefits, and TANF (welfare) grants for low-income families with earnings under 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The FRWP model can be used to examine different child care copayment rates to determine the affordability of child care for families leaving welfare for work.
On August 22, 1996, the President signed into law The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). The new law contains strict work requirements, lifetime limits for welfare receipt, a performance bonus to reward states for moving welfare recipients into jobs, comprehensive child support enforcement, and assistance for families moving from welfare to work—including increased funding for child care and guaranteed medical coverage. This law also gives states wide latitude in designing their own programs. Washington State’s program under this law is called WorkFirst.
This report highlights the findings of the Institute’s economic analysis of programs that try to reduce criminal behavior. The Institute found that there are some interventions, if well implemented, that can lower crime rates and lower total costs. Some economically attractive programs are designed to reduce the odds that young children will ever begin committing crimes, and some are designed for juvenile offenders already in the criminal justice system.
In 1995, the Washington State Legislature enacted truancy legislation which gives parents, schools, and courts a specific process to intervene earlier in the lives of at-risk youth and students with school attendance problems. In response to this new law, schools must file a "truancy petition" in juvenile court for students with five or more unexcused absences in one month. This evaluation reports on the number of petitions filed statewide and examines the impact of the truancy petition process in ten school districts in Washington State. A technical appendix which reviews research on truancy and truancy related programs throughout the country is also available.
The 1995 Washington Legislature directed the Institute to evaluate the effectiveness of the truancy petition process implemented under the 1995 "Becca Bill" (E2SSHB 2640). As part of this evaluation, the Institute conducted a case study of truant students in ten school districts in Washington during the 1996-97 school year. This report provides a statewide summary of Washington's truancy petition process and describes the major findings from the one-year case study.
For many students attending college, receipt of financial aid is a key element of affordability. This study reports on the current usage and distribution of financial aid, investigates other resources available to financial aid recipients, and compares alternative methods of financial aid distribution and their impacts on the sectors of higher education and students served within each sector. The study also provides comparative data from other states on methods of establishing tuition rates and the relationship of tuition to state funding and affordability.
The 1997 Washington State Legislature recognized the need to improve the analysis, evaluation, and forecasting of sentencing and treatment alternatives. In order to measure the success of criminal justice programs in increasing public safety and reducing subsequent offenses by convicted persons, the Institute was directed to: 1) propose a common definition of recidivism, and 2) develop standards for measuring the effectiveness of programs funded by the Community Juvenile Accountability Act. This report incorporates both assignments.
A diversion program to "fast track" first-time juvenile offenders to Community Accountability Boards in one Washington county has so far resulted in reduced felony recidivism for participants. This preliminary finding is based on six months of follow-up data. A definitive report with an 18-month follow-up period will be published in summer 2000.
The Washington State Institute for Public Policy was directed in EHB 3901 to conduct a study of reasonable, affordable child care co-payments that are realistic for low-income families. The Institute was also asked to review the child care co-payment schedules of other jurisdictions and to model the economic impact of child care co-payments on low-income families. Washington State's new child care co-payment schedule became effective on November 1,1997. The new schedule is the result of the same legislation that created WorkFirst, the state's response to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PL104-193).The employment emphasis of WorkFirst makes the state's child care subsidy program a critical element of welfare reform.
In 1996, a survey and review of juvenile curfew/parental responsibility ordinances in the cities of Washington State was conducted as part of the Institute’s research efforts concerning juvenile violence and prevention. In order to update information regarding juvenile curfew/parental responsibility ordinances in Washington State, the Institute conducted another survey in 1997. This report reviews the structure and purpose of the juvenile curfew and provides a brief overview of legal questions regarding juvenile curfews. It also describes juvenile curfews in effect in Washington State in 1997 and summarizes findings from the Institute’s 1997 survey.