Principles for Continuous Improvement: Building a Data Dashboard
“What gets measured gets managed” is an oft-repeated line in the nonprofit performance management world, and one that we at Third Sector have found holds true. That’s why we work closely with our government and community partners to ensure that “what gets managed” are long-term, meaningful outcomes that demonstrate that individuals and families are better off as a result of a publicly-funded program. We have also learned that the process of actively and collaboratively managing “what gets measured” can make a program even more successful. Working together, government agencies and …
Three Design Principles for Listening to Communities
What makes your community listening sessions worthwhile and authentic? Do you learn something new? How do you create trusting, two-way relationships?
Invest in Public Servants Today to Build a More Equitable Safety Net Tomorrow
The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the growing movement for stronger partnerships between philanthropy and government, with increasing calls for philanthropy to invest in training government employees and leaders who are in critical positions, help governments identify and attract top talent, and support the creation or expansion of positions that fill specific skill gaps. The critical question for government agencies and foundations seeking to implement this strategy is how to put it into practice.
Colorado and Ohio Leading the Nation in Collaborative and Innovative Pay for Success Projects in Higher Education
The Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE), in partnership with Third Sector, have started work on a first of its kind initiative to leverage Pay for Success (PFS) to improve retention and completion outcomes for underrepresented students. The Partnerships to Achieve Student Success (PASS) initiative aims to launch two pilot PFS projects that will forge direct funding relationships between public higher education institutions and college access and success providers, with the goal of increasing persistence and graduation rates for specific student populations. …
Six California County Behavioral Health Departments are Authorized for Full Service Partnership (FSP) Multi-County Collaborative Innovation Project
On June 5, 2020, California’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) approved a group of California counties to spend state funds designated for innovative projects on the Full Service Partnership (FSP) FSP Multi-County Collaborative Innovation Project. FSP is a community-based program for individuals experiencing severe mental illness with 48,331 clients enrolled across the state (FY 2016-17). Third Sector congratulates MHSOAC and the six counties for authorizing state innovation dollars towards systems-change for a critical mental health program! The six counties in the FSP Multi-County Collaborative Innovation Project are: …
Insights for Designing Outcomes-Oriented Programs for Young Parent Families
As a part of the Southeastern Cohort on Young Parents and Families – a project focused on improving stability and economic well-being for young parent families in Kentucky, Georgia, and South Carolina – Third Sector summarized insights from studies that evaluated over 100 evidence-based, young parent support programs across the United States. The insights were identified by reviewing research related to the design, delivery, and impact of evidence-based young parent family programs and real-time learnings from the human services organizations that are part of the cohort.
Third Sector Featured on Future Fridays
Third Sector Director Oscar Benitez joined the Future Fridays podcast to discuss our work, how we partner with communities to ensure human services are being delivered with a focus on outcomes for those who need them most, and how we’re seeing government adapt service delivery in light of COVID-19
Racism Stands Against Equitable Outcomes
We are deeply saddened by the recent tragic acts of violence on Black people across the country. We condemn the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor and stand in solidarity with those that do – especially our Black colleagues, their families, friends, and communities. These acts are part of a long history of racism, injustice, and violence faced by Black communities, which has been ignored in this country. We want to send a simple and clear message: Racism is at odds with the pursuit and achievement of …
Unlocking Economic Opportunity Through Community Partnerships
The U.S. economy today paints a picture of polarization. Despite the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, the decade preceding the COVID-19 crisis saw tremendous growth and innovation that did not benefit all Americans equally. While the GDP soared, millions of people worked jobs that didn’t pay family-sustaining wages or offer the opportunities for upskilling that have traditionally been pipelines for upward mobility. For certain marginalized populations, such as Non-Traditional Career Starters (NTCSs), people of color, or justice-involved individuals, the barriers are even greater. People of color continue to face …
Family First Act: Why Outcomes Oriented Contracting Should Be Part of The Plan
“In 2018, Congress passed one of the most substantial changes in U.S. child welfare policy in decades. The Family First Prevention Services Act provides states with the opportunity to access federal dollars to prevent children from coming into foster care. States can draw down these unlimited federal funds to support a specific set of evidence-based policies, including home visiting services, services to help parents address substance abuse and mental illness, and kinship navigation services designed to support placement of children with extended families.” The Chronicle of Social Change recently published a …
Five Principles for Government Agency Emergency Procurement
At Third Sector, we work with government, nonprofit organizations, and communities to design and implement social services contracts that promote long-term outcomes like meaningful employment, healthcare access, and stable housing for people in need. Over the last decade, we’ve found that a sustained focus on outcomes like these can help government and communities work together to improve social services — and use resources in innovative ways — to deliver better results for individuals and families. In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, our partners in state and local government are …
ROI and Beyond: Establishing a Framework for Improving Workforce Systems What is the path to measuring ROI for workforce programs?
With the recent spike in unemployment and economic precarity, we are reminded of lessons learned from prior economic hardships to support job seekers. During the Great Recession, families in tight labor markets were in immediate need of support services and paths for economic opportunity became steeper for people with life barriers such as prior incarceration and foster care. Faced with limited resources and high need, government, philanthropy, and employers found themselves asking: Which initiatives lead to employment in my community? What are the social and economic outcomes of the most …
Top 3 Things States Need to Know to Use FFPSA to Remake Child Welfare Systems
“Since Family First was first enacted by Congress in February 2018, states have begun the important work to remake their systems and make a real, positive difference in the lives of children surviving abuse and neglect. Now with the added tools and funding available through FFTA, if developed well, these new systems will help thousands of children stay with birth parents and siblings through interventions and supports that address the root issues that families face.” In a recent piece in Youth Today, Third Sector Director, Debra Solomon, spoke about three …
A Note to Our Community
Dear Third Sector Clients and Partners, In these extraordinary times, our thoughts are with all who are being impacted. As we adjust to the current uncertainty, we realize that the situation is unsettling for everyone and our clients and partners will be addressing competing demands and new priorities. We are fortunate to be part of a caring and resilient community as we navigate through these unprecedented times. Given the rapidly evolving understanding of COVID-19 and how we can assist in population health and safety, Third Sector has put in place …
State and Provider Agencies Join the Southeastern Cohort on Young Parents and Families
Third Sector has expanded its reach to new states in the South through the organization’s new Southeastern Cohort on Young Parents and Families – an effort focused on improving stability and economic self-sufficiency outcomes for young parents and their families. Through the cohort, three State and non-profit provider agencies in Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina are receiving outcomes-oriented technical assistance from Third Sector to enhance and align programs, policies, and systems to better support young parents and families. The need for this work and our focus in the Southeast stems …
Pay for Success Holds Promise in Higher Education National Cohort Learnings
In February 2019, with generous support from The Kresge Foundation, Third Sector launched the Pay for Success (PFS) in Higher Education National Cohort — a first-in-the-nation cohort of public systems of higher education, college access and success providers, and funders — to use PFS as a way to systematically fund wraparound student support services that improve matriculation, persistence, and graduation outcomes for underserved students. After six months of training and technical assistance (TTA) supporting four state and system partners in exploring PFS, it is clear there is an immediate opportunity …
Turning the Abstract into Practice Supporting the Federal Government to Operationalize Pay for Success
Social service delivery is serious, complex, and expensive. The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars per year on these programs. And yet, this massive universe of funding is often not allocated based on which programs are the most effective or in a way that measures the impact of programs over time. We see a need to change that by supporting the federal government in connecting resources to results and driving the adoption and implementation of outcomes-oriented funding.
Can ‘Pay for Success’ Boost Post-Secondary Outcomes?
In a recent piece in CommonWealth Magazine, Third Sector Director, H. Kay Howard, argues for more funding in the form of a pay for success model to ensure better post-secondary outcomes for Massachusetts students.
Shifting the Poverty Paradigm: Moving to Results that Matter in Washington State
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” – Albert Einstein Washington State (WA) Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Secretary Ross Hunter opened with the quote above at the 2019 National TANF State Directors’ Meeting, Helping Families to Overcome: Partnering to Build a Stronger Society on September 18, in a session that was live streamed and recorded. Along with Ballmer Group’s Washington Executive Director Andi Smith and Third Sector CEO Caroline Whistler, Secretary Hunter presented on DCYF’s agency-wide journey to transition ~$1 billion across over 1000 social …
Outcomes-Based Financing Data Advisory Council
Creating a national outcomes-based financing Data Advisory Council (DAC) to capture and share best practices for using data to measure the social impact of outcomes-based financing. The investment community’s understanding of the impact made by outcome-based financing is hampered by a lack of data. As of now, there are no centralized, holistic databases of impact investing data (e.g. benchmarks, sample portfolios, returns and/or performance ranges, market deal terms) that the broader finance community typically uses. As such, investors do not have the same tools to evaluate their investments’ impact that …