by Nicole Neroulias Gupte, Communications Manager
Three programs in the Pacific Northwest have won funding to study the feasibility of using Pay for Success to expand services for vulnerable populations in Oregon and Washington state.
Pay for Success projects, sometimes called social impact bonds, are an emerging model of bringing governments, nonprofits and investors together to finance preventive services and other programs aimed at providing long-term taxpayer savings. The Pacific Northwest programs were chosen through a national competition run by Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc., supported by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund.
Washington state's Department of Early Learning and Thrive Washington, a nonprofit public-private partnership focused on early childhood development, will study the feasibilty of using Pay for Success to expand the state's home visiting program. From the news release:
Home visiting programs are proven to curb abuse and neglect, support school readiness, and give children and families a great start. Since the account was created in 2010, it has grown from funding four grantees serving 120 children to 36 grantees with the capacity to serve 2,000 children statewide. In Washington state, there are currently as many as 30,000 families who are eligible for home visiting services but can’t get them.
In addition to the funding and technical assistance from Third Sector, DEL and Thrive’s study will be supported by the Giddens Foundation, Foundation for Healthy Generations, Philanthropy Northwest and Mission Investors Exchange.
Washington’s Health Care Authority will assess the feasibility of using Pay for Success to provide persons residing in institutional settings with the opportunity to transition to community-based supportive housing.
The Center for Evidence-Based Policy at the Oregon Health & Science University will focus on preventing entry into foster care and improving outcomes for at-risk children under six.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Third Sector to advance Pay for Success in Oregon through our Pay for Prevention project,” said Pam Curtis, director of the Center for Evidence-based Policy. “Third Sector’s award builds on years of work here, and on the investment made by the Oregon Legislature in 2014. Third Sector’s engagement will advance our work to get better results for children while increasing government accountability.”
