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A budget proviso in the 1996 supplemental budget directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to "collect data and information from jurisdictions within the state of Washington and outside the state of Washington, including other nations, that have experience with developing protocols and training standards for investigating child sexual abuse." This project incorporated a review of the scientific literature, model protocols and standards from other states and jurisdictions, and legislation in other states. In addition, a panel of state experts visited four counties in the state to observe their practices.
In 1990, Washington State enacted a law authorizing civil commitment of individuals found to be “sexually violent predators” at the end of their criminal sentence. This civil commitment law was part of an omnibus bill, the 1990 Community Protection Act. In order to increase the state’s knowledge about effective strategies with sex offenders, the legislature directed the Institute to evaluate this law’s effectiveness. This publication updates information on the implementation and background of sexual predator laws.
This issue brief explains the general requirements established by the federal government for registration of sex offenders released from incarceration. Also included are the results from a 1996 Institute survey listing the number of registered sex offenders by state.
This report surveys the 50 states regarding their organization of children and family services, then analyzes the responses and supplemented information from national sources. In addition, case studies are described using five states that have undergone recent organizational or programmatic reforms in the area of child protection. These states are: Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, and Tennessee.
In August and September of 1996, the Institute conducted a survey of law enforcement to solicit information on community notification procedures throughout Washington State. The report describes sex offender harassment incidents and methods law enforcement use to reduce these incidents, including community meetings.
An April 1996 Institute report analyzed state statutes covering community notification; 32 states were included. This update includes eight additional states that passed legislation either authorizing community notification or allowing access to sex offender registration information. Arizona’s community notification law also was amended, therefore it is also included.
In 1990, Washington State enacted a civil commitment law for persons found to be sexually violent predators. As of September 1996, 38 persons are housed at the Special Commitment Center in Monroe, Washington; 21 have been committed under the Act, and the others are awaiting trial. This paper summarizes records from the Special Commitment Center regarding the residents' criminal history, offense pattern, treatment history, and mental health diagnosis.
This research brief provides the latest information on trends in juvenile violence in Washington, based on court conviction and arrest rates.
The Washington Legislature in 1995 directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to evaluate the safety net created to address potential school district funding issues under the new special education funding formula. This study finds that school districts are receiving $10.5 million (62 percent of the amount appropriated for the first year) in safety net awards. Ninety-one percent of safety net funds were awarded for school districts under the category of Maintenance of Effort for State Revenues. The rest of the awards were made from the other two categories, Special Characteristics and Costs and High Cost Individual. This study highlights administrative issues to be worked on related to: 1) timing the release of funds, 2) greater education and access for school districts, and 3) an investigation of what criteria are appropriate for the categories of Special Characteristics and Costs and High Cost Individual.
Prior to the recently enacted federal welfare reform, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996, Congress last changed the national public assistance program in the Family Support Act of 1988. States were required to develop Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) programs to increase efforts to move welfare recipients into the labor market. In its 1996 supplemental budget, the Washington Legislature directed its Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee to evaluate our state’s implementation of JOBS. This report accompanies that review, and describes the operation of JOBS programs in eight other states.