WSIPP: Publication

Report Detail

December 2009

Return on (Taxpayer) Investment: Evidence-Based Prevention and Intervention—Initial Report to the Legislature on Study Design—

Steve Aos

The 2009 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy “to calculate the return on investment to taxpayers from evidence-based prevention and intervention programs and policies.”

This short report summarizes the four-step approach the Institute is taking to this assignment.

• First, we describe how we assess research evidence from throughout the United States to determine what works and what does not.
• Second, we indicate how we calculate costs and benefits for Washington.
• Third, we briefly discuss our procedures to provide a “portfolio-level” analysis on how a set of policy options could affect the statewide outcomes identified by the Legislature.
• Fourth, we describe our approach to testing the uncertainty in our conclusions.

Document ID: (09-12-1202)