Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc. to provide Commission with federally funded technical assistance to accelerate exploration of implementing Pay for Success
(Santa Ana, CA) – The Children and Families Commission of Orange County has been selected as part of a national competition to assess the feasibility of implementing Pay for Success to improve health for newborns, reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and save taxpayer dollars. Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc. (Third Sector), the organization that ran the competition, will provide the Commission, and six other awardees, federally funded technical assistance throughout 2015. Third Sector’s work with the Commission is supported by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund.
Pay for Success (PFS) is an innovative funding model that enables government to draw in greater resources to tackle social problems by tapping private investments for the upfront costs of the programs. If the program is successful in delivering services that measurably improve the lives of people it is meant to serve, then government repays those who made the original investment. If the program does not achieve its target results, government does not repay those who made the original investment. This ensures that taxpayer dollars are being spent only on programs that actually work.
The Children and Families Commission was selected for its demonstrated commitment to funding high-quality, effective social interventions that produce measurable outcomes in the area of children’s health. Early intervention and preventative services will, over time, substantially reduce the outlay of public funds. The Commission’s Bridges Network Program is a partnership with hospitals, government agencies and community based organizations. The Bridges Network positively impacts birth outcomes and the health of young children by providing early outreach and support services to families. The program currently reaches about 70 percent of women who give birth in Orange County. Of the women screened for services, 96 percent had incomes below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.
The Bridges Network is funded by Proposition 10 tobacco tax revenue that declines every year. “As the funds allocated by the Commission shrink, we are identifying alternative funding strategies to ensure that proven programs continue to help babies and their families have the best start,” said Christina Altmayer, Executive Director of the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with Third Sector to advance the Pay for Success model and the new opportunities for public-private partnerships to fund programs that measurably improve the health of young children and families.”
Given the positive benefits that have been demonstrated to date by the Bridges for Newborns Program, the Commission is working with CalOptima to validate the cost savings and outcomes under a managed care model. CalOptima is the county organized health system in Orange County that administers Medi-Cal and Medicare programs for low-income families, children, seniors and persons with disabilities.
Third Sector, a grantee of the Social Innovation Fund’s Pay for Success program, announced the selection of the Commission along with six other awardees (called “sub-recipients”) after a highly selective national competition. The Sub-Recipients include: Austin/Travis County, TX; Bridges Network and Orange County, CA; Commonwealth of Virginia; State of Nevada in partnership with Clark County, NV and Las Vegas, NV; State of Oregon, Marion and Multnomah Counties, OR, and Friends of the Children; State of Washington and Thrive Washington; and Year Up.
“We are honored to work with the Children and Families Commission to measurably improve the lives of young children” said Third Sector CEO and Co-Founder George Overholser. “Support from the Social Innovation Fund will allow Third Sector to lead a diverse cohort of governments and nonprofits in accelerating their exploration of implementing Pay for Success in the areas of early childhood and youth development.”
In 2014, Third Sector received $1.9 million from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), to help strengthen the pipeline of state and local governments and service providers prepared to implement PFS projects. SIF uses federal funding as a catalyst for private and public collaborations in three areas: economic opportunity, healthy futures, and youth development. To deliver the technical assistance, Third Sector is partnering with Abt Associates, America Forward, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, and National Governor’s Association.
Seven PFS programs in the fields of juvenile justice, early childhood education, homelessness prevention and recidivism have been launched in the United States, including Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; Cuyahoga County, OH; Massachusetts (two projects); and New York.
About Third Sector Capital Partners, Inc.
Third Sector is a 501(c)3 nonprofit whose mission is to accelerate America’s transition to a performance-driven social sector. Third Sector is making Pay for Success a reality in the United States. Third Sector leads governments, high-performing nonprofits, and funders in building collaborative initiatives that re-write the book on how governments contract social services, by funding programs that work, saving taxpayer dollars, and measurably improving the lives of people most in need. Third Sector is a recipient of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Social Innovation Fund. Learn more at nationalservice.gov/sif.
About the Corporation for National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.
About the Children and Families Commission of Orange County
The Children and Families Commission of Orange County oversees the allocation of funds from Proposition 10, which added a 50-cent tax on tobacco products sold in California. Over $30 million was allocated in FY 2013/14 to fund 126 organizations that served more than 171,000 young children. Funds help pay for early education, pediatric primary and specialty health care, children’s dental, homeless prevention, and child development programs for children from the prenatal stage to age 5 and their families. The Commission’s goal is to ensure all children are healthy and ready to learn when they enter school. For more information, please visit www.first5oc.org.