BILL REQ. #:  H-2396.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/07/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to investments in cost-effective intervention programs for juvenile justice-involved youth; adding new sections to chapter 13.40 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.135 RCW; creating new sections; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that there are youth and family-focused intervention services that have been proven through rigorous evaluation in the state of Washington and elsewhere to significantly reduce violence and crime while saving more public safety dollars than they cost. Under current state laws, no local government acting alone has the financial incentive to invest in these cost-effective services because the savings accrue to multiple levels of government with the largest savings going to the state. It is the intent of the legislature to create incentives for local government to invest in cost-effective intervention services that reduce crime by reimbursing local governments with a portion of the cost savings that accrue to the state as the result of local investments in such services.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration shall establish a reinvesting in youth program that awards grants to counties for implementing research-based early intervention services that target juvenile justice-involved youth and reduce crime, subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose.
     (2) The department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration shall review county applications for funding through the reinvesting in youth program and shall select the counties that will be awarded grants with funds appropriated to implement this program. The department, in consultation with the Washington state institute for public policy, shall develop guidelines to determine which counties will be awarded funding in accordance with the reinvesting in youth program. At a minimum, counties must meet the following criteria in order to participate in the reinvesting in youth program:
     (a) Counties must match state moneys awarded for research-based early intervention services with nonstate resources that are at least proportional to the expected local government share of state and local government cost avoidance that would result from the implementation of such services;
     (b) Counties must demonstrate that state funds allocated pursuant to this section are used only for the intervention service models authorized pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of this act;
     (c) Counties must participate fully in the state quality assurance program established in section 7 of this act to ensure fidelity of program implementation. If no state quality assurance program is in effect for a particular selected research-based service, the county must submit a quality assurance plan for state approval with its grant application. Failure to demonstrate continuing compliance with quality assurance plans shall be grounds for termination of state funding; and
     (d) Counties that submit joint applications must submit for approval by the department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration multicounty plans for efficient program delivery.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Effective July 1, 2005, and continuing through June 30, 2007, a reinvesting in youth pilot program shall be established. The pilot program will test methods for reinvestment of state savings that result from local investments in evidenced-based services for juvenile justice-involved youth.
     (2) Participation in the pilot program shall be limited to three counties or groups of counties, including at least one charter county with a population of over eight hundred thousand residents and at least one county or group of counties with a combined population of three hundred thousand residents or less.
     (3) Only the following intervention service models shall be funded under the pilot program: (a) Functional family therapy, (b) multisystemic therapy, and (c) aggression replacement training.
     (4) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, payments to counties in the pilot program shall be sixty-nine percent of the average service model cost per youth times the number of youth engaged by the selected service model. For the purposes of calculating the average service model cost per engaged youth for a county, the following costs will be included: Staff salaries, staff benefits, and local expenditures on administration, training, fees, and quality assurance.
     (5) Counties that participate in the pilot program shall have a portion of their costs of serving youth through the intervention service models paid for with moneys from the reinvesting in youth account established pursuant to section 5 of this act. Distribution of funds from the account to the charter county with a population of over eight hundred thousand residents shall be based upon the number of youth that are expected to be served by the intervention service model, up to six hundred fifty-two thousand dollars for the 2005-2007 biennium. The department may distribute the remaining grant moneys to the other counties selected to participate in the pilot program. The total amount allocated for pilot programs grants established in this section is limited to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose and shall not exceed nine hundred ninety-seven thousand dollars from state sources.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Effective July 1, 2007, any county may apply for participation in the reinvesting in youth program.
     (2)(a) In order to receive funding, intervention service models must meet the following minimum criteria:
     (i) There must be scientific evidence from at least one rigorous evaluation study of the specific service model that measures recidivism reduction;
     (ii) There must be evidence that the specific service model's results can be replicated outside of an academic research environment;
     (iii) The evaluation or evaluations of the service model must permit dollar cost estimates of both benefits and costs so that the benefit-cost ratio of the model can be calculated; and
     (iv) The public taxpayer benefits to all levels of state and local government must exceed the service model costs.
     (b) Every two years, beginning in calendar year 2006 for use in fiscal year 2008, the Washington state institute for public policy shall publish a list of service models that are eligible for reimbursement through the reinvesting in youth program. The institute shall use the technical advisory committee established in subsection (3) of this section to review and provide comments on the list of service models that are eligible for reimbursement.
     (3) The department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration shall convene a technical advisory committee comprised of representatives from the house of representatives, the senate, the governor's office of financial management, the department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration, the family policy council, the juvenile court administrator's association, and the Washington association of counties to assist in the implementation of this act.
     (4) Every four years, beginning in calendar year 2006 for use in fiscal year 2008, the Washington state institute for public policy shall review and update the methodology for calculating cost savings resulting from the implementation of this program. The institute shall use the technical advisory committee established in subsection (3) of this section to review and provide comments on its methodology and cost calculations.
     (5) Every four years, beginning in calendar year 2006, for use in fiscal year 2008, the department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration shall establish a distribution formula to provide funding local governments that implement research-based intervention services pursuant to this program. The department shall use the technical advisory committee established in subsection (3) of this section to review and provide comments on its proposed distribution formula.
     (6) The department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration shall provide a report to the legislature on the initial cost savings calculation methodology and distribution formula on or before October 1, 2006.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The reinvesting in youth account is created in the state treasury. Moneys in the account shall be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used to reimburse local governments for the implementation of the reinvesting in youth program established in sections 2 through 4 of this act.
     (2) Revenues to the reinvesting in youth account consist of revenues appropriated to or deposited in the account.
     (3) The department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration shall review and monitor the expenditures made by any county or group of counties that is funded, in whole or in part, with funds provided through the reinvesting in youth account. Counties shall repay any funds that are not spent in accordance with sections 2 through 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 43.135 RCW to read as follows:
     RCW 43.135.035(4) does not apply to the transfers established in section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
     The department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration shall establish a state quality assurance program. The juvenile rehabilitation administration shall monitor the implementation of intervention services funded pursuant to section 5 of this act and shall evaluate adherence to service model design and service completion rate.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2005, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   Nothing in this act creates an entitlement for a county or group of counties to receive funding under the program in sections 2 through 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2005.