WSIPP outlines outcome study of LEAD/RNP, warns of data limits and local resource constraints

Travis of the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) told CSRSAC that WSIPP's first descriptive report documented implementation barriers and that the next report will emphasize outcome evaluation, including recidivism and disparity analyses. He said the assignment has three parts: recidivism comparisons for participants and non-participants, assessment of disparities in program utilization, and recommendations to improve RNP and LEAD effectiveness and adoption.

Travis summarized barriers WSIPP identified in 2025: uneven local buy-in, concerns among some law-enforcement practitioners that diversion reduces accountability, workforce challenges in hiring and retaining staff who provide trauma-informed services, and an overall scarcity of community resources such as treatment beds, stable housing and transportation.

Committee members asked how WSIPP would distinguish referrals from actual resource availability (for example, whether a referral to housing resulted in housing placement). Travis said WSIPP expects to use person-level referral and provider data, adjust analyses for community-level differences, and test several comparison strategies: people referred but not contacted, matched criminal-history controls who were not referred, and pre/post within-subject comparisons to triangulate findings.

WSIPP cautioned that some outcome measures depend on data-owner approvals and IRB signoffs, which could change the final analytic plan. Travis invited committee feedback and offered to accept follow-up questions by email.