Contracting Processes of Correctional Industries

...The 2023 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to study the contracting practices for goods and services and manufactured products made or offered by Correctional Industries (CI) to state agencies and others within the state. The report must address the following:

• Determine the costs of all contracts utilizing the labor of incarcerated individuals providing services or the manufacture of goods for state entities and other political subdivisions;
• Compare the cost savings to Washington that is projected when those goods and services are procured from or produced by CI and not private businesses engaged in a competitive bidding process with the state and its various political subdivisions;
• Provide a detailed break out of the total number of labor positions that are offered to incarcerated individuals and the rate per hour of the gratuities the individuals are given monthly for this labor;
• Provide a detailed listing of all commissary items purchased by and offered for sale to individuals incarcerated within the facilities operated by the Department of Corrections; and
• Provide a comprehensive list of all positions offered by CI that provide substantive training and labor-ready skills for individuals to assume positions in the workforce outside of incarceration; and to the extent the data allows,
• Provide the number of individuals who have positions upon release that were obtained with skills obtained through work at CI.

For more information on the items that must be included in WSIPP’s review, please see the study assignment language in the legislation linked below. The report is due to the governor and the legislature by June 30, 2025. ...

Evaluation of the Guided Pathways Model

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The 2021 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to evaluate the Guided Pathways Model. Guided Pathways is a community and technical college reform that aims to improve student experience and outcomes through changes to academic program structure, advising, instruction, and progress monitoring.

WSIPP’s preliminary report will review the implementation of the Guided Pathways Model in Washington and any available evidence of the effectiveness of the Guided Pathways Model. If possible, this report will also evaluate the effect of the Guided Pathways Model on early student outcomes, including, but not limited to, student retention and persistence, college-level English and math within the first year, graduation and transfer rates. The preliminary report was originally due to the Legislature by December 15, 2023. In September 2023, the WSIPP Board of Directors voted to shift the deadlines to June 30, 2024.

A final report will evaluate the effect of Guided Pathways on longer-term student outcomes including, but not limited to, degree completion, time to degree, transfer to four-year institutions, employment, and earnings, to the extent possible. The final report is due in December 2029.

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Adult Corrections Inventory

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The 2023 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to update its adult corrections inventory of evidence-based, research-based, and promising programs, and to expand the inventory to include new programs not included in the last WSIPP inventory. The update must focus on programs for incarcerated individuals in prison facilities, including family and relationships programs, learning and working programs, and therapeutic and support programs. WSIPP was directed to prioritize programs currently offered by the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC).

A preliminary report will identify the programs currently offered in DOC prison facilities and list the new programs to be reviewed for the updated adult corrections inventory. The preliminary report must also indicate whether DOC programs have ever been evaluated for their effect on recidivism. The preliminary report was originally due to the legislature on December 31, 2023. In September 2023, the WSIPP Board of Directors voted to shift the deadlines to June 30, 2024.

A final report of the updated adult corrections inventory will also list programs currently offered in DOC prison facilities and will include a determination of each program’s likely effectiveness in reducing recidivism based on WSIPP’s analysis of available evaluation studies. The final report is due by December 31, 2024.

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Cannabis Legalization Evaluation

...In November 2012, Washington State voters passed Initiative 502 to regulate and tax the use and sale of cannabis for persons twenty-one years of age and older. As part of I-502, WSIPP was directed to “conduct cost-benefit evaluations of the implementation” of the law. The evaluations must include measures of impacts on public health, public safety, cannabis use, the economy, the criminal justice system, and state and local costs and revenues.

A preliminary report was released in September 2015. The second required report was released in September 2017, and the third required report was released in September 2023. The last mandated report is due in 2032.

Previous Findings
Supplemental to the ongoing benefit-cost evaluation of cannabis legalization authorized by Initiative 502 in 2012, the 2018 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to conduct additional cannabis research. WSIPP was directed to update its inventory of programs for the prevention and treatment of youth cannabis use; examine current data collection methods measuring the use of cannabis by youth and potential ways to improve on these methods; and identify effective methods used to reduce or eliminate the unlicensed cultivation or distribution of marijuana in jurisdictions with existing legal marijuana markets.

Related reports:
Monitoring Trends in Use Prior to Implementation of I-502 and Employment and Wage Earnings in Licensed Marijuana Businesses.

Recent Findings
Initiative 502 and Cannabis-Related Public Health and Safety Outcomes: Third Required Report
We describe findings from analyses of the relationship between non-medical cannabis legalization or licensed retail operations and various outcomes. First, we examined how cannabis possession misdemeanor conviction rates changed in Washington after the passage of I-502. Second, we examined how reported cannabis use has changed in Washington after the passage of I-502 compared to non-legalizing states. Last, we specifically focused on the impact of local access to licensed non-medical retailers. For these analyses, we examined how retail access relates to substance abuse and traffic safety outcomes within the state over time.

Reported Substance Use: Using national survey data, we compared changes in the rates of reported cannabis, alcohol, and other substance use in Washington after the enactment of I-502 and the start of a licensed retail market, relative to changes in comparable states that did not legalize non-medical cannabis.

Cannabis-Related Convictions: We examined how rates of cannabis possession misdemeanor convictions have changed since the enactment of I-502. We examined conviction rates separately for different ages, sex, and racial groups.

Traffic Fatalities: We examined the relationship between greater access to licensed non-medical cannabis retailers and the prevalence of fatal traffic collisions. We also examined the relationship between retail accessibility and the prevalence of drivers involved in a fatal crash who test positive for THC both alone and in combination with alcohol.

Substance Use Disorder Diagnoses: We examined the relationship between greater access to licensed non-medical cannabis retailers and the probability of cannabis use disorder, alcohol use disorder, or opioid use disorder diagnoses. ...

Conservation District Elections

...The 2023 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to examine the costs associated with conservation district elections under current law and the projected costs and benefits of shifting conservation district elections to be held on general election ballots. The study must include the following:

• An analysis of the amount of money that each conservation district spends on holding elections for supervisors under current law and a description of the funding sources that each conservation district utilizes to fund its elections;
• Information about voter turnout in each conservation district supervisor election in at least the past six years and up to the past 20 years, if the conservation district has such data, as well as a calculation of the total cost per ballot cast that each conservation district spent in those elections;
• A projection of the costs expected to be incurred by each county and each conservation district for its supervisor elections if the district were to hold its supervisor elections on general election ballots.
• A projection of the costs that would be expected to be incurred by each county and each conservation district for its supervisor elections if, in addition to the changes mentioned above, the conservation districts were divided into zones such that each zone is represented by a single supervisor, rather than electing each supervisor at-large throughout the district; and
• An overall description of potential nonmonetary costs and benefits associated with switching conservation district supervisor elections to the general election ballots and incorporating the abovementioned changes.

A preliminary report was originally due to the Legislature by December 1, 2023, and a final report was due by June 30, 2024. In June 2023, the WSIPP Board of Directors voted to shift the deadlines to December 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. ...

Effectiveness of the drug offender sentencing alternative (DOSA)

...The 2020 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug offender sentencing alternative (DOSA). DOSA allows individuals to participate in treatment and community supervision in lieu of some (Prison DOSA) or all (Residential DOSA) of their incarceration sentence. This evaluation will examine whether participation in DOSA reduces recidivism and whether those effects vary for prison- and residential-based DOSA programs. The legislature directed WSIPP to repeat these evaluations on a regular schedule to continuously monitor the effects of the program.

An introduction to the ongoing report series that describes the development of DOSA can be found here. The initial evaluation report can be found here. Additional evaluation reports are due to the governor and the legislature on November 1, 2028, and every five years thereafter. ...

Evaluation of the Reentry Community Services Program

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The 2021 Legislature passed E2SSB 5304 which modified the state’s Reentry Community Services (RCS) program. The bill includes an assignment for WSIPP to update its evaluation of the RCS program and to broaden its benefit-cost analysis to include impacts on the use of public services and other factors. In addition, the bill directs WSIPP to examine the potential cost, benefit, and risks involved in expanding or replicating the RCS program. Finally, the bill asks WSIPP to examine what modifications to the program are most likely to improve outcomes associated with program participation based on current knowledge about evidence-based, research-based, and promising programs. WSIPP will consult with the Reentry Services Work Group (administered by the Health Care Association) in 2022 to determine any additional research parameters for the final report.

The preliminary report can be found here. A final report was originally due November 1, 2023. In September 2023, the WSIPP Board of Directors voted to shift the deadlines to June 30, 2024.

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Evaluation of Washington's Housing Voucher Program

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In 2022, the Washington State Legislature passed 2SHB 1818, which expanded the use of rental vouchers for individuals leaving incarceration in state prisons from three to six months. As a part of this bill, the Legislature directed WSIPP to conduct an evaluation and benefit-cost analysis of Washington’s Housing Voucher Program, accounting for the new expansion to six months. The assignment directs WSIPP to consider not only recidivism outcomes, but also impacts on homelessness, use of public services, and other factors WSIPP deems relevant.

A final report is due to the governor and the Legislature by November 1, 2025. ...

LAP Inventory: Effective Practices to Assist Struggling Students

...The 2013 Washington State Legislature directed WSIPP to prepare an inventory of evidence- and research-based practices, strategies, and activities for school districts to use in the Learning Assistance Program (LAP).

The state program provides supplemental academic support to eligible K-12 students achieving below grade level or not on track to meet local or state graduation requirements. LAP funds may support programs in reading, writing, mathematics, and readiness, as well as programs to reduce disruptive behavior.

An initial report was released in July 2014. Updates were published in July 2015, July 2016, June 2018, and July 2020. The inventory will be updated every two years thereafter.

WSIPP was scheduled to update the inventory in 2022. Instead of an updated, WSIPP assessed the use of the inventory. In the absence of the regular update, WSIPP published a historical review of the LAP inventory, describing potential changes resulting from 2021 legislation, and offering a discussion of options regarding the future of the inventory. ...

Updated Inventory of Evidence-based, Research-based, and Promising Practices: Prevention and Intervention Services for Adult Behavioral Health

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.