2007 Report to Citizens: Safe Communities

Safe, thriving communities are essential to sustaining Washington’s families. It is imperative that vulnerable citizens — children, veterans, the elderly and the mentally ill — are protected from abuse and neglect.

Listening to citizens

• Keeping kids safe by preventing re-abuse is the most important measure of the effectiveness of our social service network.
• Reducing repeat offenses is a key measure of success in community safety.
  

Taking action

• Set a target that requires social workers to have face-to-face contact with an at-risk child within 24 hours of a report of suspected child abuse or neglect.
• The Department of Corrections and Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs use electronic devices and DNA collection to monitor sex offenders under community supervision.
  

Getting results

• Social workers now respond to reports of suspected child abuse within 24 hours 95 percent of the time, up from 65 percent in 2004. As a result, repeat instances of child abuse have declined by more than 25 percent.
• Crime — both property and violent — has decreased by 18 percent since 2005.
  

Challenges

• Although still well below the national trend, Washington’s prison incarceration rates are projected to increase by another 23 percent by 2019. Building more prisons is expensive, so we invested in programs proven to reduce the causes of repeat criminal activity.
• We’ve made great strides in child safety, but we still have a long way to go. Social workers are still carrying heavy caseloads, and more community-based social services are needed to help improve and sustain healthy strong families.

How we measure our progress

Source: Department of Social & Health Services Since 2004, the number of re-abused children has substantially declined Why is this important?

Source: Washington Caseload Forecast Council Demand for prison beds is projected to outstrip current capacity

 

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Do you like this report? Do you believe it should include any other information? Please let us know by contacting accountability@gov.wa.gov.