BILL REQ. #:  S-0959.1 

Read first time 01/28/2005.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to investments in cost-effective intervention programs for juvenile justice-involved youth; adding new sections to chapter 70.190 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 and save 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 investments 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 70.190 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department of community, trade, and economic development 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) 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. 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 five hundred thousand residents and at least one county or group of counties with a combined population of three hundred thousand residents or less. Effective July 1, 2007, all counties shall become eligible to apply for participation in the program.
     (3) At a minimum, intervention service models must meet the following criteria in order to be funded in the reinvesting in youth program:
     (a) There must be scientific evidence from at least one rigorous evaluation study of the specific service model that measures recidivism reduction;
     (b) There must be evidence that the specific service model's results can be replicated outside of an academic research environment;
     (c) 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;
     (d) The public taxpayer benefits to all levels of state and local government must exceed the service model costs;
     (e) For the pilot program established during the 2005-2007 biennium, only the following intervention service models shall be considered eligible for reimbursement: (i) Functional family therapy, (ii) multisystemic therapy, and (iii) aggression replacement training.
     Every two years beginning in 2006 for use in FY 2008, the Washington state institute for public policy shall update the list of service models that are eligible for reimbursement. The institute shall use a technical working group comprised of representatives from the house of representatives, the senate, the governor's office of financial management, the department of social and health services, the department of community, trade, and economic development, the family policy council, the juvenile court administrator's association, and the Washington association of counties to review and provide comments on its preliminary findings.
     (4) For the pilot program established in subsection (2) of this section, calculation of state and local savings shall be based on recidivism reduction and cost savings calculations contained in the most recent study by the Washington state institute for public policy; provided, that if a jurisdiction is able to demonstrate results based on an institute-approved evaluation, the results of that evaluation will be used.
     (5) Every four years beginning in 2006 for use in FY 2008, the Washington state institute for public policy shall use methodologies similar to those used in previous studies to update the calculation of savings accruing to the state and to local governments based on estimated reductions in caseloads and avoided costs reasonably attributable to selected research-based programs. The institute shall use the technical working group described in subsection (3) of this section to review and provide comments on its preliminary findings.
     Reimbursements to counties for state cost savings shall be based on the following:
     (a)(i) For the purposes of calculating state and local government savings, the following categories of expenditures shall be included: Superior courts, county prosecutors, local juvenile detention, juvenile rehabilitation administration detention, juvenile court probation, juvenile rehabilitation parole, adult jail-local and prison, state community supervision-local sentence, and corrections-postprison supervision.
     (ii) Capital costs and crime victim costs shall be excluded from the calculation of state and local government savings.
     (b) For charter counties with a population of over five hundred thousand that are included in the pilot program established in subsection (2) of this section, state payments to a county in a particular year shall be based on the number of youth engaged by the selected program during the previous five years and the estimated state cost avoidance in the payment year attributable to the recidivism reduction estimated for those youth. The state shall pay no more than the percentage of current year service model costs (including the costs for staff, administration, training, fees, and quality assurance) that is equal to the state's estimated percentage share of total state and local government current year cost avoidance resulting from service model interventions during the previous five years.
     (c) For counties with a population of five hundred thousand or less that are included in the pilot program established in subsection (2) of this section, state payments to a county in a particular year shall be based on the number of youth engaged by the selected service model during the year times the average service model cost per youth (including the costs for staff, administration, staff training, fees, and quality assurance) multiplied by a percentage which is equal to the state's estimated percentage share of state and local government cost avoidance attributable to those youth during the next five years.
     (d) Every four years beginning in 2006 for use in FY 2008, the department of community, trade, and economic development shall update the factors addressed by this subsection that set the relationship between the amount of reimbursement and the quantity and quality of service provided. The department shall use a technical working group consisting of representatives from the house of representatives, the senate, the governor's office of financial management, the department of social and health services, the family policy council, the Washington state institute for public policy, the juvenile court administrator's association, and the Washington association of counties to review and provide comments on its preliminary findings.
     (6) The department of community, trade, and economic development 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 section. 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 demonstrate contributions from nonstate sources to selected research-based services at least proportional to the local government share of state and local government cost avoidance;
     (b) Counties must demonstrate that state funds allocated pursuant to this section are used only for the selected research-based services;
     (c) Counties must participate fully in the state quality assurance program established in section 5 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 community, trade, and economic development multicounty plans for efficient program delivery.
     (7) Nothing in this section creates an entitlement for a county or group of counties to receive funding under this program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 70.190 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 accordance with section 2 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 community, trade, and economic development 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 this act.
     (4) For the fiscal biennium beginning July 1, 2005, the state treasurer shall transfer nine hundred ninety-seven thousand dollars from the general fund into the reinvesting in youth account.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   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 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 70.190 RCW to read as follows:
     The department of community, trade, and economic development shall contract with the department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation administration for the establishment of a state quality assurance program. The juvenile rehabilitation administration shall monitor the implementation of intervention programs reimbursed pursuant to this act and shall evaluate adherence to program design. The juvenile rehabilitation administration shall report any failures to comply with its quality assurance standards to the department of community, trade, and economic development.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   The Washington state institute for public policy shall estimate the costs and benefits resulting from the implementation of the reinvesting in youth program and provide a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature, the governor, and to the department of community, trade, and economic development on December 1, 2007, and every four years thereafter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   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.