Donna Schram, Cheryl Milloy - February 1998

Washington State law provides for the civil commitment of extremely dangerous sex offenders. This study describes the 61 adult offenders who were referred for possible commitment as predators but for whom such petitions for civil commitment were not filed, during the first six years after the law's passage (July 1990 through June 1996). The subsequent criminal behavior of these 61 offenders was tracked in official records for the time period following their release from custody. During this period, more than one-half of the group were rearrested. The highest percentage of offenders were rearrested for nonsexual crimes.

Paige Wanner, Eva Westley, Lauren Knoth-Peterson, Elizabeth Drake - January 2020

In 2019, WSIPP updated the full portfolio of juvenile justice meta-analyses, benefit-cost analyses, and the resulting evidence classifications. This work aligned with WSIPP’s ninth update of the Children’s Services Inventory (“the inventory”), published in December 2019. The inventory describes the research evidence and benefit-cost findings for a variety of programs in the areas of juvenile justice, child welfare, and children’s mental health, and classifies each program according to its level of evidence and benefit-cost findings.

WSIPP’s update to the inventory led to changes in the evidence classification for several juvenile justice programs operating in Washington State. Four programs previously classified as either evidence-based or research-based are now promising or null. This resource guide serves as a companion document to the inventory and as a resource for Washington State policymakers and practitioners to understand how changes in the meta-analyses and benefit-cost analyses of juvenile justice programs resulted in changes to evidence classifications.

In the guide, WSIPP explains the specific changes made to all meta-analyses and benefit-cost analyses of juvenile justice programs in 2019. Then, the guide provides details for several programs eligible for Washington State funding for youth involved in the juvenile courts or committed to a Juvenile Rehabilitation facility. For each eligible program, the guide reviews relevant changes to the content in the specific meta-analysis, changes to the calculations of meta-analytic results, changes made to the costs of the program, and changes made to WSIPP’s standard benefit-cost model. While WSIPP classifies a broad array of programs, and these evidence classifications are subject to change over time, this guide focuses specifically on changes to classifications for juvenile justice programs eligible for state dollars.

Danielle Fumia, Kristofer Bitney, Michael Hirsch - November 2018

The 2015 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to evaluate the effects of the College Bound Scholarship (CBS) program on education outcomes. The CBS program is an early commitment program that provides financial assistance to low-income undergraduate students. At public institutions, CBS covers full tuition and fees, plus a book stipend. Eligible students at corresponding private institutions receive the equivalent dollar value. To receive the scholarship, students must sign a pledge in middle school promising to graduate high school with at least a 2.0 GPA and no felony convictions and apply for federal or state financial aid. Students who complete the pledge requirements and have family incomes at or below 65% of the state median family income during college can receive their full CBS award. The program started in the 2007-08 academic year with the first CBS cohort entering college in the 2012-13 academic year.

This report describes our findings of the effectiveness of the College Bound Scholarship program on education outcomes for students attending Washington public schools in middle school. We analyze the effects of pledge eligibility and signing the College Bound pledge in middle school, CBS eligibility at the end of high school, and CBS receipt in the first year of college on secondary and postsecondary outcomes at public institutions in Washington.

In February 2019, we updated our main findings with a supplemental report using data from the National Student Clearinghouse’s StudentTracker service. This supplemental report evaluates the effects of the CBS program on enrollment and graduation across all institutions, including outcomes at private institutions in Washington and public and private institutions outside of Washington.

Marna Miller - June 2009

The 2008 Legislature directed the Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman (OFCO) to analyze referrals of child abuse and neglect to find out whether the source of the referral influenced the response by the Child Protective Services (CPS) at the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). OFCO contracted with the Institute to perform the study. We examined a total of 96,000 referrals made between January 2006 and February 2008 and found that educators and social services professionals make more reports to CPS than other types of reporters. Compared with other reporters, referrals from law enforcement were more likely to both be accepted for investigation and result in removal of a child from his or her home.

The study also found variations in the outcomes of referrals from the various types of reporters. The largest variations in outcomes were determined by DSHS region and the risk assignment history of individual intake workers. Intake workers with a history of assigning higher levels of risk than their peers were more likely to continue to assign higher levels of risk.

Marna Miller, Rebecca Goodvin - November 2017

The 2012 Washington State Legislature directed DSHS to create a two-track response system for accepted reports to Child Protective Services, where high risk families receive an investigation (formerly the only response) and low- to moderate-risk families receive Family Assessment Response (FAR). FAR provides a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk of subsequent child abuse or neglect, and family strengths and needs. The assessment determines the need for services to address child safety and the risk of subsequent maltreatment but does not include a determination as to whether child abuse or neglect occurred.

WSIPP was directed to evaluate the effect of FAR on child safety measures, out-of-home placement rates, re-referral rates, and caseload sizes and demographics. In this final report, we evaluate the outcomes directed in the law, comparing outcomes for families who received FAR to those families who were eligible for FAR but who were served in offices where FAR had not yet been implemented. We also estimate the proportion of the caseload assigned to FAR after full implementation and the effect of FAR on receipt of paid in-home services.

A preliminary report was published in December 2014.

Marna Miller - March 2011

Washington’s Children’s Administration uses Family Team Decision Making (FTDM) meetings to involve parents and other family members, the child (when appropriate), friends, foster parents, caseworkers, and other professionals. Ideally, FTDM meetings are held for all decisions involving child removal, change of placement, and reunification or other permanency plan. In 2008, DSHS convened 6,600 FTDM meetings regarding nearly 8,000 children.

An earlier Institute study demonstrated over-representation of Indian, Black and Latino children in Washington’s child welfare system. Following referrals to Child Protective Services (CPS), Indian and Black children (but not Asian or Latino children) were more likely to be placed in foster care, and to remain in care significantly longer than White children. In 2009, the Legislature directed the Institute to study the effects of the implementation of FTDM on racial disproportionality.

When we studied outcomes for the child welfare caseload statewide, we found that FTDM had no effect on out-of-home placement, time to permanency, or new referrals to CPS.

When we examined outcomes by racial groups, however, we found three positive results for FTDM. 1) Latino children experienced decreased rates of placement. 2) Asian children achieved permanency more quickly than those in non-FTDM offices. 3) Black children exiting to permanency were less likely to be the alleged victims of new accepted CPS referrals.

With the exception of these three favorable results, FTDM as implemented in Washington did not affect disproportionality for Indian or Black children with respect to placement in foster care or time to permanency.

Robert Barnoski - December 2002

In 1997, the Washington State Legislature funded intensive parole for the highest-risk youth committed to the state’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy was asked to determine whether this strategy reduces recidivism. The findings are that the first two cohorts of youth in the program have the same recidivism rates as a control group of comparable youth. The conclusion is that the anticipated reductions in recidivism, due to intensive parole, have not been observed.

Roxanne Lieb, Kathy Gookin - March 2005

In 1990, the Washington State Legislature passed a new form of involuntary commitment for sex offenders identified as “sexually violent predators” (SVPs). This law permits the state to retain custody of individuals found by a judge or jury to pose risks for reoffending. Since Washington’s enactment, 16 other states have adopted similar laws. Texas requires outpatient treatment rather than confinement; Pennsylvania law pertains only to 20-year-olds “aging out” of the juvenile system.

This paper summarizes key features of the SVP laws, focusing on three questions:

• How many individuals have been held under these laws?
• How many have been released under some form of less restrictive alternative?
• What are the program costs?

Marna Miller, Katelyn Kelley - June 2022

Washington State law requires that, given probable cause, police must make an arrest when called to a domestic violence (DV) incident. The 2021 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) to conduct a systematic review of the research on mandatory arrest in DV cases. We found no evidence that mandatory arrest is more effective than discretionary arrest at reducing future DV offenses. Specifically, we found six rigorous studies of the effect of mandatory arrest on DV recidivism. On average, across the studies, mandatory arrest had no effect on whether an individual committed a subsequent DV offense. Further, another study found that mandatory arrest laws did not affect a state’s prevalence of DV. A separate study found that mandatory arrest laws had no effect on DV homicide.

Joint Task Force on Basic Education Finance - January 2009

The final report includes, among others, recommended levels of funding, compensation, and staffing; enhancements for special education, struggling students, and early learning; and direction on levy equalization, data reporting, and accountability and oversight. The report provides guidance on phase-in and projects the expected effect of the recommended investment.