Work highlights

Examples of Models for Change-supported activities underway in Washington

Reengaging youth in school and reducing unnecessary detention with truancy laws by:

Partnering with Benton/Franklin Models for Change, Washington State University Division of Governmental Studies and Services completed a truancy process and resources survey for each "school building" in Benton and Franklin Counties to determine consistency and effectiveness of truancy interventions, from which best-practices can be identified and built upon.
Funding development and validation of an effective risk assessment instrument for status offenders, including truants
Informing and supporting efforts to revise state truancy laws, to introduce needed flexibility, improve access to effective truancy prevention and school re-engagement services, and ensure that formal processing and confinement are used only when all other approaches have failed
Reviewing truancy processes and procedures in one demonstration site, with an eye to expanding availability of culturally and linguistically appropriate truancy services for Latino youth
Commissioning an evaluation of the effectiveness of a locally grown intervention program in another site—the Clark County Truancy Program—that may prove suitable for packaging and replication elsewhere in the state.

Developing mental health screening protocols to reduce unnecessary referrals to juvenile court.
Working with National Youth Screening and Assessment Project (NYSAP), drafted protocols and created a staff training schedule/implementation plan for incorporating standardized mental health screening into the Clark County Truancy Program intake process.
Piloting a middle school-based mental health intervention team program designed to reduce unnecessary referrals to the juvenile court.
Expanding use of the juvenile offender mental health disposition option as an alternative to incarceration in state delinquency institutions

Developing uniform DMC data collection system
Partnering with state agencies to develop a standardized model for quantitative DMC data collection and analysis across the state.
Enhancing the cultural competence of evidence-based treatment programs
Increased African-American Youth’s Functional Family Therapy (FFT) engagement rates from 45% to 83% by creating a specialized FFT caseload with an African-American therapy provider.

Improving access to and quality of counsel for youth
Statewide assessments of the juvenile indigent defense systems in Washington have already been conducted. Building on the momentum created by the assessments, Models for Change in Washington State is seeking strategic opportunities to engage partners in reforming the juvenile indigent defense systems.
Juvenile defender training and professional development
Models for Change partners in Washington are working to enhance the quality of legal representation in delinquency cases by providing in-depth juvenile justice indigent defense training at the local level, and by forming partnerships with in-state legal and professional institutions to create a permanent capacity for training and professional development.

Teams from Washington participate in the following Models for Change action networks:

As part of the Models for Change Research Initiative, Washington sites are involved in the following studies: