Governments are struggling to do more with less–that’s the key message we took away from our conversations with leaders in social service agencies across the country.

America’s need for government agility has become increasingly urgent in 2020. As most of us are reminded by our daily realities, this year has brought fresh examples of the horrors and costs of systemic racism, devastating natural disasters, and a global pandemic accompanied by employment and financial crises. However, amidst the outrage and fear about these events and their disproportionate impacts on people of color, low-income individuals, and members of other commonly marginalized communities, there is increasing pressure and will for change. One example is the way in which these …

In a series of workshops held in partnership with MassHire Workforce Boards and Career Centers, Third Sector worked with MassHire partners to share initial steps participants could take to make their services more outcomes-oriented, thus improving outcomes for jobseekers and employers in their communities.  MassHire partners were interested in learning these initial steps they could take, given their capacity constraints.  Through the workshop series, the participants were able to examine their data to identify priority populations to focus on, stakeholders to collaborate with, and began to implement more outcomes-oriented processes.  …

Third Sector partnered with Austin Workforce Solutions (WFS), the Ray Marshall Center at the University of Texas (RMC) and the Travis County Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to facilitate a series of three workshops for 40 Austin area workforce leaders, including community-based organizations and community colleges. The workshops, funded by the Prudential Foundation, built on the Austin Community Workforce Master Plan (MCWP or Master Plan), which has an overall goal of 10,000 residents living at or below 200% of poverty securing middle-skill jobs by 2021. The workshops focused …

Third Sector Capital Partners (Third Sector), a consultancy collaborating with government agencies to develop innovative contracts that align policy, dollars, data, and services around improved social outcomes, has been awarded $500,000 by ECMC Foundation to support on-going efforts in Colorado and Ohio to increase college enrollment and graduation rates for specific student populations and to expand these efforts to other states.

At the recent ASU+GSV Summit, Third Sector joined Jobs for the Future for a special panel discussing the trends in addressing student debt through innovative finance models. Third Sector Director H. Kay Howard joined David Soo, Chief of Staff, Jobs for the Future, Lexi Barrett, Associate Vice President, Jobs for the Future, and Brooke Valle, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer, San Diego Workforce Partnership in “Lions and Tigers and Debt, Oh My! Trends in Innovative Finance.”  

We want to share the story of Santa Cruz’s Human Services Department (HSD) outcomes contracting transformation, in which they moved through the steps we outlined in the first and second blog series. By the end of their two-year engagement with Third Sector that focused on improving their TANF Welfare to Work (WTW) subsidized employment programming, Santa Cruz HSD had built a more collaborative relationship with their two providers and had developed new outcomes and metrics to regularly review and work towards.

This is the second post in our data-driven continuous improvement blog series. To read the first blog on best practices for creating a data dashboard, click here. In this post, we’ll share three tips for continuous improvement conversations. The data is ready. The graphs are finalized. The trends are highlighted. Your shiny new report detailing workforce credentialing and job placement program outcomes over the last 6 months is ready to be released. You are eager to send it to training and coaching service providers. As public sector data enthusiasts, we, …

“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 …

What makes your community listening sessions worthwhile and authentic? Do you learn something new? How do you create trusting, two-way relationships?

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.

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. …

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: …

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 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

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 …

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 …

“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 …

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 …

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 …