WSIPP - December 1994

The Family Income Study is a five-year longitudinal study of Washington households. We compared the characteristics of women who received welfare (Aid to Families with Dependent Children - AFDC) with women who were considered to be "working poor."1 All respondents had at least one child. We used characteristics of women respondents in the first year of the study for comparison. There were significant differences during the women's youth and in their current characteristics.

Thomas Sykes, Edie Harding - January 1995

The Washington Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to determine the feasibility of doing a longitudinal study of educational outcomes for students in special education. A longitudinal study allows the tracking of a population over some period of time in order to document changes in that population. This report summarizes what is already known about student outcomes for special education and suggests possible ways to learn more about special education programs.

Carol Webster, Greg Weeks - March 1995

This paper discusses the possible impacts of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a cash refund, on low income families in Washington State. Both Washington State's minimum wage and the federal EITC were increased in 1994. These two increases meant that a woman could have a higher potential income from working at the minimum wage than she would have from welfare, or when compared to the federal poverty guideline or the Washington Need Standard.

Carol Webster, Greg Weeks, Xiaohan Hong - June 1995

This report provides preliminary results from an outcome evaluation of the community-based teen pregnancy prevention program, known as the "advocacy program," that began its services in Lewis and Mason Counties in July 1994. This evaluation covers the period July 1994 through 1995. The advocacy program was one of 12 community-based programs selected by the Department of Health (DOH) to receive state funds under ESHB 1408.

Robert Barnoski, Scott Matson - January 1997

The 1996 Washington State Legislature appropriated $2.35 million to 12 juvenile courts for early intervention programs targeting youth placed on probation for the first time and considered at high risk to re-offend. At the request of the Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy evaluated the program. The primary outcome measure is whether there is a reduction in subsequent court adjudications for those youth in the program. The program will be evaluated to determine the level of program success necessary for the state's investment to be cost-effective.

Edie Harding, Mason Burley - January 1998

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.

Mason Burley, Sharon Silas - April 1998

This report provides information on trends of "at-risk" behaviors of youth in Washington State as of 1998.  Since 1995, the Institute has published trends in the rates of violent crime, teen substance abuse, teen pregnancy, teen suicide, dropping out of school, child abuse placements, domestic violence, and foster home placements. These trends establish a baseline to assess statewide progress in measuring the outcomes established in the 1994 Violence Reduction Act. 

Robert Barnoski - January 1999

The 1997 Washington State Legislature significantly altered this state’s juvenile offender sentencing laws and intervention policies (E2SHB 3900). One portion of the legislation established the Community Juvenile Accountability Act (CJAA). The Act changed the way some local court programs are funded—only programs shown to reduce recidivism cost-effectively are funded under the CJAA. In the Act, the Institute was charged with measuring whether the CJAA programs cost-effectively reduce recidivism in Washington State.

Roxanne Lieb - December 1999

The 1999 Legislature passed legislation concerning investigations of alleged child sexual abuse.  In addition to statutory changes to the investigatory process for allegations of child sexual abuse, the law established a multidisciplinary group to create statewide guidelines for these investigations.  This document details the state guidelines, including both minimum state requirements for county protocols and advisory comments to guide local decision-making.  Prosecutors are to use these guidelines in leading local efforts for county protocols; those protocols were put into place July 1, 2000. 

Elizabeth Drake, Robert Barnoski - November 2008

The 2003 Washington State Legislature passed a bill that increased “earned release time” for certain types of offenders. The bill authorizes the Washington State Department of Corrections to release eligible offenders earlier if they have demonstrated good behavior in prison.

The 2003 Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to evaluate whether the enacted changes in earned release have affected recidivism rates. This report is divided into four sections: background information,evaluation design, recidivism findings, and cost-benefit analysis.