Policy and Practice April 2019

State and local governments can also help providers generate evidence of what works best to address commu- nity challenges. King County is setting aside 5 percent of funding 14 from the Best Starts for Kids initiative for rigorous assessment, data collection, and evaluation, including technical assistance to local nonprofits so they can test innovative solutions and build a base of evidence for new approaches. “In the past, our award of a grant to a partner organization kind of was the outcome,” King County Executive Dow Constantine explained. “Nowwe are drilling down andmaking sure we are focusing on the results we want to see for the people andmeasuring those results.” Step 5: Create Feedback Loops As state and local governments improve their systems for gathering and sharing data, they should harness the power of these new data through regular discussions with providers to determine which strategies work best and which can be improved. When Rhode Island’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families shifted to a results-driven contracting process 15 —structuring services around 15 outcome categories and linking those to specific performance objectives—the agency gave vendors new flexibility to propose the services, supports, and resources that achieved the best outcomes for children and families. To institutionalize performance feedback loops, agency leaders added small per- formance-based payments into all new contracts for family-based and residen- tial services. The agency also increased the sharing of administrative data so that both service providers and agency staff could track what happens with clients after they exit programs. Using these data, and working with experts from the Government Performance Lab, Rhode Island officials piloted an active contract management systemwith four providers, which allowed agency staff and providers to monitor outcomes in real time and quickly intervene if performance starts to drop. The results? The state has reduced the number of children in group care by 32 percent since 2015 (with help from the Annie E. Casey Foundation

(Above) King County residents from the Somali community discuss Best Starts for Kids Health Survey data at a community Café Data Dive. (Left) Mother and daughter at a Best Starts for Kids photo booth at a community event in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood.

in Rhode Island are the ones to benefit,” Buffi said. For more on the What Works Toolkit, go to the website 16 or listen to the recent webinar 17 , co-hosted by the American Public Human Services Association. To see these ideas in action, watch the new video 18 on King County’s Best Starts for Kids initiative. Please send your best examples of state and local government agencies using data and evidence to improve results to info@results4america.org!

and Casey Family Programs), expanded its portfolio of family-based services and supports, and reduced the number of children entering state custody due to the improved performance of preventive services. Deb Buffi, the agency’s Associate Director of Contracts and Compliance, said some of the best learning has come at the regular meetings where different providers join agency staff to review the data in a non-threatening atmo- sphere where all parties can assess what is working, what is not working, and how they can continually improve. “Everyone is willing to come to the table to brainstorm solutions with us and their peers if their monthly data show a slip in outcomes,” Buffi said. “This is not a ‘gotcha’ environment.” As the months went by and results kept improving, the providers and agency staff would erupt in applause when the new statewide performance data were shown at meetings. “We’re all jointly excited that kids and families

Reference Notes 1. See http://bit.ly/2SMlzn2 2. See http://bit.ly/2SMftmz

3. See https://on.nyc.gov/2H3JmgS 4. See https://on.nyc.gov/2tQnJrM 5. See http://bit.ly/2C7mokR 6. See http://bit.ly/2H4STo5 7. See https://bloombg.org/2VzTph0 8. See http://bit.ly/2SL2oKw 9. See http://bit.ly/2H2Zorq 10. See http://bit.ly/2SQhY7q 11. See http://bit.ly/2TyNYS2 12. See http://bit.ly/2ERb6Dh 13. See http://bit.ly/2EJlVWO 14. See http://bit.ly/2J9RPBh 15. See http://bit.ly/2Hgv8sl 16. See www.results4america.org/ what-works-toolkit

17. See http://bit.ly/2Hj5NOl 18. See http://bit.ly/2Tm5CZR

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April 2019 Policy&Practice