Scott Matson, Roxanne Lieb - April 1996

Community notification refers to the distribution of information regarding released sex offenders to citizens and community organizations. This report analyzes 32 states with legislation authorizing some form of notification, or access to information, on registered sex offenders. The states are organized into three categories: broad community notification, notification to organizations and individuals at risk, and access to registration information.

Roxanne Lieb, Edie Harding, Carol Webster - April 1996

A preliminary report on the initial activities of the Community Public Health and Safety Networks to reduce violence in Washington State. 

Peggy Slavick, Steve Aos - March 1996

The increase in juvenile violent crime in Washington prompted the 1994 Washington State Legislature to pass a law enabling local jurisdictions to adopt juvenile curfews. Cities and counties are allowed to establish “times and conditions under which juveniles may be present on the public streets, in the public parks, or in any other public place during specified hours” (RCW 35.21.635 and 36.21.425). The Institute was directed by the Legislature to study juvenile violence and other at-risk behaviors of youth. As part of the Institute’s research efforts concerning juvenile violence and prevention, a survey was conducted of the cities in Washington with juvenile curfew ordinances. This report reviews the ordinances and surveys city officials regarding their experiences.

Robert Barnoski - February 1996

The Washington Legislature in 1994 directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to study juvenile violence, teen pregnancy, and other at-risk behaviors of youth. The Institute was instructed to analyze trends in these behaviors and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Washington's efforts to achieve measurable reductions in violence and at-risk behaviors. This research brief is part of the Institute's plan to provide the Legislature and other interested persons with up-to-date findings on these topics.

Robert Barnoski, Steve Aos - February 1996

The Washington Legislature in 1994 directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to study juvenile violence and other at-risk behaviors of youth. The Institute was instructed to analyze trends in these behaviors and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Washington's efforts to achieve measurable reductions in violence and at-risk behaviors. This research brief is part of the Institute's plan to provide the Legislature and other interested persons with up-to-date findings on these topics.

Steve Aos, Robert Barnoski - February 1996

The Washington Legislature in 1994 directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to study juvenile violence, teen pregnancy, and other at-risk behaviors of youth. The Institute was instructed to analyze trends in these behaviors and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Washington's efforts to achieve measurable reductions in violence and at-risk behaviors. This research brief is part of the Institute's plan to provide the Legislature and other interested persons with up-to-date findings on these topics.

Steve Aos, Roxanne Lieb, Robert Barnoski - January 1996

The 1994 Washington Legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2319, a wide-ranging Act whose purposes are to achieve measurable, cost-effective, reductions in criminal violence and other ?at-risk? behaviors of youth. The Act adopted a number of policies designed to reduce: (1) violent criminal acts; (2) teen substance abuse; (3) teen pregnancy; (4) teen suicide; (5) dropping out of school; (6) child abuse or neglect; (7) domestic violence; and (8) state-funded out-of-home placements. The Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to evaluate whether these policies achieve a measurable reduction in youth violence in Washington. This report highlights the “big picture” trends in six of the eight at-risk behaviors identified by the Legislature. Data in this report are current through 1994.

Edie Harding - January 1996

In 1995, the Washington Legislature revised the state special education funding formula and developed a safety net process to assist school districts with three areas of specific financial need. The Legislature also directed the Institute, in cooperation with the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Office of Financial Management (OFM), and the fiscal committees of Washington’s Legislature, to evaluate the allocation of safety net funds under Washington’s special education funding formula. A summary of the first round of safety net applications and future directions to improve the process are presented in this paper.

Carol Webster - January 1996

In the 1995 legislative session, E2SSB 5439 (the "Becca Bill") was passed by the Washington State Legislature and signed into law. Its purpose is to give parents, police, schools, and courts the ability to intervene earlier in the lives of at-risk youth. Sections 66-74 of the new law address truancy. The new law requires the school district to file a truancy petition directly with the juvenile court if a juvenile has five unexcused absences in a month or ten in a school year. The Becca Bill directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to review and evaluate: the need to develop a statewide definition of excused and unexcused absences; the need to prohibit school districts from suspending and expelling students as disciplinary measures in response to unexcused absences; and the process of filing truancy petitions. This report describes how the law has been interpreted and implemented in school districts and juvenile courts from September through November 1995.

Edie Harding, Beth Keating - November 1995

This study identifies baseline data necessary for the legislature to: 1) understand the scope of current programs with significant public funding for infants and toddlers with disabilities, and 2) examine the commitment that the state made in accepting federal requirements for early intervention programs under Part H of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Act) as of October 1994.