A National Imperative: Joining Forces to Strengthen Human Services in America (Jan 2018)

to invest in evidence-based approaches to delivering services and care. Programs showing promise or proven to be successful elsewhere were brought in to Freedom County, tailored to meet the specific needs of the County’s residents. CBOs partnered with the nearby State University to test these programs and measure their outcomes in a statistically rigorous manner. Programs that produced solid outcomes were supported financially, maintained, and improved, while those that did not were defunded and adjusted or terminated entirely. Now, all public and private funding goes toward CBOs delivering and developing strong programs and services supported by evidence. And evidence is, in turn, being measured through application of technology and integrated and shared data, again supported in part by philanthropic donations that are no longer going to close gaps in program funding. To be fair, the CBO landscape in Freedom County now looks a bit different. Some CBOs were unable to successfully make the transition to outcomes, and have since closed their doors. Some recognized that their portfolio of programs included some that seemed like they would help County residents over time… but actual data about long-term outcomes, once collected and analyzed rigorously, showed otherwise. Those programs have been shuttered and funding and energy have been reallocated elsewhere. The best performing CBOs, though, grew stronger and expanded their organizations both through organic build-outs and acquisitions. They became, and are viewed by DHS, as critical members of a larger interconnected ecosystem focused on common outcomes. Many of the County’s smaller CBOs have joined together to share “back-office” functions and a single technology infrastructure. Where demand has grown and programs have been proven effective, new CBOs have sprung up, embracing an evidence-based and outcomes-based orientation from their very inception. It is now well-understood that the human services ecosystem produces significant social and economic benefits for the County. Armed with outcomes data, CBOs can translate funding and donations into tangible results for the community. Just as a financial investor can approximate the expected return on a given investment, public and private funders of human services in Freedom County can evaluate the projected impact of every dollar they inject into the system. Clear ROI metrics and demonstrable outcomes have incentivized additional funders, including social impact investing organizations, to support the human services ecosystem. Most importantly, the residents of Freedom County embrace the need to invest in the human services ecosystem as crucial to lifting up their communities and providing the means for a happy, productive, and successful life for all. To the residents of Freedom County, the human services system is as much a part of their critical infrastructure as their roadways, their water pipes, and their schools.

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