Mason Burley - September 2000

At the request of its Board of Directors, the Institute studied the impact of the truancy petition process in the Seattle School District. Revised truancy procedures in Washington State school districts took effect in 1995 as part of the “Becca Bill.” The truancy component of this bill requires school districts to file a petition in juvenile court when students accumulate excessive unexcused absences. This paper describes whether the truancy requirements work to keep truant youth (from the Seattle School District) enrolled in school.

Greg Weeks, Carol Webster - December 1994

There are two schools of thought about the requirements of a successful welfare-towork program: One believes women on welfare should be encouraged to work, even at low-paying jobs, because steady work experience is a rung on a “wage ladder” that leads to jobs at higher wages. The other believes women on welfare should be encouraged to enroll in education and training to improve their skills and only take jobs with higher wages, because low-paying jobs are a dead end.

Previously, the Family Income Study found that both education/training and work experience affect the possibility of a woman leaving and staying off welfare. In this paper, we address the effects of work experience. We examined the hourly wages of women in the AFDC sample, who worked at least three months in any year during the five-year study period (1988-1992), to see if it was possible to “climb a wage ladder.”

Mia Nafziger, Marna Miller - October 2013

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) was directed by the 2013 Legislature to prepare an inventory of evidence-based, research-based, and promising practices for prevention and intervention services for adult behavioral health. This brief report presents our preliminary findings on collaborative primary care for depression and anxiety. Final results for collaborative care will be published in May 2014.

WSIPP - August 1992

This paper uses Family Income Study data to examine child care use among public assistance households and a comparison group of households at risk of receiving assistance in 1988. To illustrate more current child care patterns, we describe child care use of those households from the original 1988 public assistance sample that also received public assistance in 1991.

WSIPP - December 1993

Previous Family Income Study research found that more women left public assistance due to employment than for any other reason and that most exits from assistance were temporary, not long term. This issue brief discusses the hourly wages of women who left public assistance due to employment and the percent who were able to stay off assistance for at least 36 months.

Robert Barnoski - February 2007

The 2006 Washington State Legislature created the Promoting Academic Success (PAS) program to provide remediation for 10th-grade students who do not meet standard in one or more content areas of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL).

The Legislature also directed the Institute to evaluate the effectiveness of remedial programs funded through PAS. This report describes the results of the survey administered to the summer 2006 PAS instructors about their instruction. The survey was conducted to obtain data describing the different remedial strategies offered in the classes. A subsequent report will analyze the relationship between the survey data and WASL retest results.

Sharon Silas - May 1998

The rate of youth in state-funded foster care in Washington State is shown in this topic brief.  The statewide trend in foster care placement between 1970 and 1997 is presented; county-level data from 1987 to 1997 are also listed. 

Robert Barnoski - March 2001

In 1997, the Washington State Legislature funded intensive parole for youth under the supervision of the state’s Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA). This legislation targets 25 percent of the JRA population at the highest risk for re-offending. The goals of the intensive parole program include maintaining public protection in both the short-term and long-term; assuring individual accountability; and providing treatment and support services. JRA's method for achieving these goals is through an overarching case management system intended to help high-risk delinquents make the transition from secure confinement to community supervision.

This briefing paper looks at intensive parole program youth and answers the following questions about parole revocations: How are intensive parole youth being contacted while residing in a JRA facility? How are the intensive parole residential phase contact standards being met?

WSIPP - January 1992

Most states increase the monthly public assistance grant when a new baby is born into the household. Recently, policymakers in some states have either eliminated, or proposed to eliminate, the grant increase. These changes in public assistance policy are based on the belief that the structure of grant payments may provide an economic incentive for women on public assistance to have more children.