Marna Miller, Rebecca Goodvin, Joshua Grice, Chasya Hoagland, Eva Westley - September 2016

The 2013 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) to create, in consultation with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), University of Washington Evidence-Based Practice Institute (EBPI), University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI), and the Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Training (WIMHRT), an inventory of evidence-based, research-based, and promising practices.

The initial inventory of interventions and policies in adult mental health and chemical dependency services was published in May 2014. To view the May 2014 results, click here. An update to this inventory was published in January 2015.

While we were not directed by the legislature to update this inventory, a WSIPP Board-approved contract with the Division of Behavioral Health and Rehabilitation at the Department of Social and Health Services enabled WSIPP to review fourteen additional programs and update previously reviewed programs.

Third Sector Intelligence - September 2016

The 2016 Washington State Legislature created the Education Funding Task Force to make recommendations to the legislature regarding the state’s program of basic education. To inform the Task Force’s work, WSIPP was directed to contract with an independent consultant to collect and analyze K-12 public school staff compensation data. The analysis must examine the amount and uses of compensation paid in addition to basic education salary allocations, market rate salaries, and potential local labor market adjustment formulas. The consultant’s interim report describes the data collection process and analysis plans for the final report, due November 15, 2016.

Matt Lemon, Danielle Fumia, Lijian He - July 2016

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy's (WSIPP) Board of Directors approved a contract between WSIPP, the Department of Health, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to evaluate outcomes and conduct a benefit-cost analysis of the GRADS program.

GRADS is a K–12 program for pregnant and parenting teens that focuses on helping students take on the "dual role" of student and parent and prepare them for the world of work. In this evaluation, we compare teen mothers that participated in GRADS to a group of similar teen mothers from districts that did not offer the program.

Based on the results of our analysis, we estimate that GRADS participants have a 10.6 percentage point higher rate of high school graduation by age 22 and a 6.5 percentage point higher rate of postsecondary course enrollment by age 24.

Matt Lemon - July 2016

Washington State provides funding to school districts to help underachieving students through the Learning Assistance Program (LAP). The 2013 Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to prepare an inventory of evidence-based and research-based effective practices, activities, and programs for use by school districts in LAP and to update the inventory each two years thereafter. This report describes the third update to the inventory of evidence-based and research-based practices for use in LAP.

EBPI & WSIPP - June 2016

The 2012 Legislature passed E2SHB 2536 with the intention that “prevention and intervention services delivered to children and juveniles in the areas of mental health, child welfare, and juvenile justice be primarily evidence-based and research-based, and it is anticipated that such services will be provided in a manner that is culturally competent.”

The bill directs the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) and the University of Washington Evidence-Based Practice Institute (UW) to publish descriptive definitions and prepare an inventory of evidence-based, research-based, and promising practices and services, and to periodically update the inventory as more practices are identified. This is the sixth update to the September 30, 2012 publication. The accompanying report describes the inventory update process, as well as the ongoing technical assistance process by UW.

Annie Pennucci - January 2016

The 2015 Washington State Legislature reduced public resident undergraduate tuition in 2015 and limited future tuition increases to no more than the average annual percentage growth in Washington’s median hourly wage. The legislature also directed WSIPP to examine how this median hourly wage “growth factor” will affect tuition at the state’s public colleges and universities and to study alternative metrics for limiting tuition increases. This report describes alternative tuition growth factors including hourly wages, total income, and inflation indices. We also discuss a potential growth factor related to student affordability as directed in legislation.

This report was revised in April 2016 to correct community and technical college tuition data.

Marna Miller, Danielle Fumia, Lijian He - December 2015

Education and Employment Training (EET) is a program, currently operating exclusively in King County, for juvenile offenders at moderate- to high-risk to re-offend.

In 2010, EET was designated a “promising program” by the Community Juvenile Accountability Act oversight committee. At that time, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy agreed to evaluate the program when enough time had passed to measure the program’s effect on recidivism. This study compares recidivism rates for youth served by EET to that of similar juvenile offenders served by other court programs in Pierce and Snohomish Counties.

John Bauer, Madeline Barch, Noa Kay, Matt Lemon, Steve Aos, Mason Burley, Michael Hirsch, Stephanie Lee - December 2015

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) Board of Directors authorized WSIPP to work on a joint project with the MacArthur Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts to extend WSIPP’s benefit-cost analysis to certain health care topics.

We present findings for four new topics: 1) hospital–based programs to reduce Cesarean sections; 2) school-, workplace-, and community-based obesity prevention programs; 3) accountable care organizations; and 4) patient cost sharing. We also summarize prior findings for six topics: 1) “lifestyle” programs designed to prevent diabetes; 2) behavioral interventions to reduce obesity in adults and children; 3) transitional care to prevent hospital readmissions; 4) patient-centered medical homes to reduce health care costs; 5) programs to reduce avoidable emergency department visits; and 6) smoking cessation programs in pregnancy.

John Bauer, Madeline Barch - December 2015

The Washington State Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) to “calculate the return on investment to taxpayers from evidence-based prevention and intervention programs and policies." Additionally, WSIPP’s Board of Directors authorized WSIPP to work on a joint project with the MacArthur Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts to extend WSIPP’s benefit-cost analysis to certain health care topics.

We provide extensive discussions of interventions, methodological issues, and meta-analytic findings for six topics in this appendix. These topics include: 1) diabetes prevention, 2) Cesarean section reduction, 3) transitional care, 4) patient-centered medical homes, 5) accountable care organizations, and 6) patient cost sharing.

Neil Bania, Mia Nafziger - December 2015

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) Board of Directors authorized WSIPP to work on a joint project with the MacArthur Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts to extend WSIPP's benefit-cost analysis to workforce development programs.

This report reviews the evidence on workforce programs in three broad program categories: 1) job training and work experience, 2) job search and placement assistance, and 3) case management.