RCW 71.24.909 — Washington state institute for public policy study on recovery navigator programs and law enforcement assisted diversion programs.

1. (1) The authority shall contract with the Washington state institute for public policy to conduct a study of the long-term effectiveness of the recovery navigator programs under RCW 71.24.115 and law enforcement assisted diversion programs under RCW 71.24.589 implemented in Washington state, with reports due by June 30, 2028, June 30, 2033, and June 30, 2038, and an assessment as described under subsection (2) of this section. The Washington state institute for public policy shall collaborate with the authority and the substance use recovery services advisory committee under RCW 71.24.546 on the topic of data collection and to determine the parameters of the report, which shall include:

   1. (a) Recidivism rates for recovery navigator and law enforcement assisted diversion program participants, including a comparison between individuals who did and did not use the pretrial diversion program under RCW 69.50.4017, and outcomes for these individuals;
   2. (b) Trends or disparities in utilization of the recovery navigator and LEAD programs and outcomes based on race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression or identity, disability status, age, and other appropriate characteristics; and
   3. (c) Recommendations, if any, for modification and improvement of the recovery navigator program or law enforcement assisted diversion programs.

2. (2)

   1. (a) The Washington state institute for public policy shall, in consultation with the authority and other key stakeholders, conduct a descriptive assessment of the current status of statewide recovery navigator programs and the degree to which the implementation of these programs reflects fidelity to the core principles of the law enforcement assisted diversion program as established by the law enforcement assisted diversion national support bureau in its toolkit as it existed on July 1, 2023, which shall include:

      1. (i) The results of the law enforcement assisted diversion standards fidelity index analysis, conducted by an independent research scientist with expertise in law enforcement assisted diversion evaluation, including findings with respect to each standard assessed, for each recovery navigator program, in each behavioral health administrative services organization region;
      2. (ii) Reports on utilization of technical support from the law enforcement assisted diversion national support bureau by recovery navigator program contractors, the authority, and behavioral health administrative services organizations; and
      3. (iii) Barriers to achieving fidelity to core principles.
   2. (b) The report shall also describe law enforcement assisted diversion programs in Washington state that are not affiliated with recovery navigator programs.
   3. (c) The report may include recommendations for changes to recovery navigator programs reported by recovery navigator program administrators, stakeholders, or participants.
   4. (d) The authority, behavioral health administrative services organizations, and other recovery navigator program administrators shall cooperate with the institute in making this assessment.
   5. (e) The institute shall submit this assessment to the governor and relevant committees of the legislature by June 30, 2024.
3. (3) The authority shall cooperate with the Washington state institute for public policy to provide data for the assessment and reports under this section.
4. (4) The authority must establish an expedited preapproval process by August 1, 2023, that allows requests for the use of data to be forwarded to the Washington state institutional review board without delay when the request is made by the Washington state institute for public policy for the purpose of completing a study that has been directed by the legislature.

[ 2023 sp.s. c 1 s 24.]