King County, WA

King County proposed two potential evaluations, one focusing on homelessness prevention and one focusing on diversion and rehabilitation of low-level offenders. King County’s Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative (YFHPI) provides flexible funding and case management to families with youth under 18 and unaccompanied youth under age 25 that are at risk of homelessness. The YFHPI program is expected to be substantially oversubscribed, allowing potential for a randomized evaluation. King County would like to evaluate the program’s impact on homelessness as well as secondary health and well-being indicators using client self-reports at program exit. King County is also interested in evaluating Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), a pre-booking diversion program that allows law enforcement officers to redirect low-level offenders engaged in drug or prostitution to harm reduction-oriented services and case management, instead of to booking and prosecution. King County plans to measure the program’s impact on recidivism, a variety of behavioral health outcomes, and housing.