This page was updated in July 2018 to note the conclusion of the state’s work with the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative.
In July 2014, West Virginia’s executive and legislative leadership extended a formal partnership invitation to the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative. The state plans to use the Results First approach to determine which state-funded programs are providing optimal returns on investment and to promote data-driven decision-making in budget and policy matters.
The West Virginia Results First Initiative began its analysis with the adult criminal justice system. To organize the effort, state leadership and staff formed a policy working group, which governed the strategic direction of the initiative. A technical working group, composed of staff from the West Virginia Division of Corrections, the Division of Justice and Community Services, and the Administrative Office of the Courts, developed a program inventory of state-funded adult criminal justice programs. The inventory was formally presented to several key policy stakeholders, including the policy working group and the state’s Joint Finance Committee.