A new report from the non-profit Urban Institute outlines a five-step model for ensuring the sustainability and quality of “pay for success” social impact bond programs.
The report contextualizes “pay for success” within the restrictions of current legislation and notes key obstacles that programs and investors face. “Pay for success” involves private investors financing social programs — often related to criminal justice — and receiving returns only if the programs are successful.
“Juvenile and criminal justice systems have extensive barriers to achieving more cost-effective programming,” researchers wrote.
Those barriers include, a “focus on remediation rather than prevention,” a frequent preference to maintain the status quo, suspicion of innovation among administrators and systems that are isolated from the rest of government.
The Urban Institute's five-step guide aims to help stakeholders identify drivers of populations and costs, develop solutions for service gaps and barriers, give investors transparent guidance on risks and benefits, and ensure “the best possible evidence-based services,” for target populations.
Read the report HERE.