Virginia Pay for Success Council

Speaking about today’s announcement, Governor McAuliffe said, “Pay for Success has the potential to demonstrate that quality prenatal home visiting programs for women with lower incomes significantly reduce infant healthcare costs and future taxpayer burdens while improving the lives of our children. This is the first time Virginia has considered the Pay for Success model, and we are grateful for the opportunity to work with Third Sector to advance this unique approach.” 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. “We are eager to explore Pay for Success as another collaborative approach to creating positive outcomes for children and families in the Commonwealth,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Bill Hazel. “As resources continue to be scarce, PFS promises to allow for private investment to demonstrate effective approaches to challenging social issues.” “Prenatal home visiting programs in Virginia were selected because they have already proven successful in providing measurable outcomes. We are eager to find ways to support these programs that ensure more Virginia children will thrive,” said Dr. Marissa J. Levine, Virginia Health Commissioner. “Using prenatal home visiting programs as our initial focus, this effort will help us understand how Pay for Success would be accomplished in the state. If successful, this innovative funding model could be applied to other issues important to Virginians.” The Virginia Pay for Success Council is a collaboration of interested members of private industry, human service and government organizations working for the past year to initiate a model designed to implement proven, productive early childhood programs that increase the life outlook for thousands of Virginia children, strengthen Virginia’s workforce development and competitiveness, and reduce taxpayer burdens.