Early Childhood Pay for Success Research, Evansville, IN

Grantee Information Federal Award: $782,412 over 2 years Focus Area: Youth Development Geographic Focus: Nationwide Target Beneficiaries: Low-income youth Collaborating Partners: Nonprofit Finance Fund Funding Partners: Pritzker Children’s Initiative (a national project of the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation), United Way of Greenville County, Greenville Health System, ReadyNation The Institute for Child Success (ICS) provides TA to help jurisdictions use PFS financing to improve outcomes for children and families. In 2014, ICS organized the first national conference on PFS for early childhood with the business leader organization ReadyNation. In 2016, ICS, ReadyNation, and the Sorenson Impact Center at the University of Utah will host the third annual Conference of the Early Childhood Social Impact Performance Advisors in San Diego, where participants were chosen through an open competition. ICS will provide technical assistance to approximately 12 teams over 3 years with the goal of increasing funding for early childhood programs with demonstrated outcomes for children and families. Technical assistance for each jurisdiction will last 9 to 12 months. ICS uses an innovative coaching model, where jurisdictions commit specified staff to the project and are guided through the process of assessing the feasibility of PFS for funding early childhood outcomes. In partnership with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), ICS is also building the capacity of early childhood service providers. City of Evansville (Office of the Mayor) The Institute for Child Success will work with the City of Evansville, Indiana to assess whether Pay for Success (PFS) financing model could expand access to high quality preschool to the city’s two and three-year olds from low-income families. Approximately 2,000 could benefit from high-quality preschool, but are not enrolled. This project will focus on measuring and achieving increased kindergarten readiness. Evansville has displayed strong community investment and local business interest in the proposed PFS initiative, with the inclusion of project partners such as the SW Indiana Business Roundtable on Early Childhood Development. ICS will provide 9-12 months of technical assistance to determine whether PFS financing is a feasible way to improve child outcomes.