HB 1501 authorizes the Office of Financial Management to procure and enter into a multi-year pay-for-success contract with an investor(s) and a provider. The contract would require the investor to finance a social service intervention for 16-21 year old youth who are exiting a juvenile rehabilitation institution and are at risk of reentering a criminal justice system or homelessness. The intervention would provide supportive housing as well as additional support services that could include services related to employment, education, cognitive behavioral treatment, substance abuse/mental health treatment.
Terms of the contract are specified in the bill, including designating performance measures and outcomes. The Office of Financial Management is directed to consult with the WA State Institute for Public Policy and the Dept. of Social and Health Services when identifying the performance targets. At a minimum, the measures must demonstrate a decrease in recidivism rates among participants.
ELHS Committee Amendment: As amended, HB 1501 specifies that no state moneys may be used to procure, manage, or make payments related to the PFS contracts authorized by the bill. Authorization for the OFM to procure, manage, or make payments related to PFS contracts is contingent upon securing sufficient non-state moneys to execute and carry out the PFS contracts. The types of interventions that may be used with a PFS contract described in the bill are expanded to include a social service intervention that could involve maternal or child health, early childhood education, juvenile justice, homelessness, or child welfare areas.