The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Research and Data Analysis (RDA) division integrates client databases with data from 10 state agencies, 40 separate data systems, and individuals receiving services through publicly funded health and human services programs in Washington. Data is used for rapid-cycle policy analysis, program evaluation, predictive modeling, and performance measurement to help agencies understand how health services and other factors are related to outcomes for persons served by public assistance programs. Predictive modeling and clinical decision support tools developed and maintained in RDA’s integrated data environment have been used by the state’s Health Home Program – which provides intensive care management services to high-risk Medicaid beneficiaries – to improve health outcomes and lower costs. These lower costs have resulted in tens of millions in dollars in shared savings payments from the federal U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Washington State Institute for Public Policy maintains and uses a criminal history database that links records across courts, adult corrections, and juvenile rehabilitation over time. This database allows the institute to investigate long-term outcomes for individuals in the state who participated in state-funded initiatives and programs related to criminal justice and juvenile rehabilitation. Recently, this database has been used to examine a variety of issues, such as the effectiveness of Aggression Replacement Training provided by the juvenile courts and long-term outcomes for youth dually involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.