San Diego: supervisors, unanimity – one more step towards pay for success and better standards for all…
Supervisors Vote Unanimously For ‘Pay for Success’ Model
Debbie L. Sklar – Times of San Diego
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously directed staff to evaluate a philanthropic model to raise private funding for public health and safety programs.
The “Pay for Success” model gets private investors to provide upfront financing to community organizations and local governments that are willing to try new approaches to delivering services to the public.
“If these new approaches are successful in helping people, the investors may recover their capital or reinvest it back into the program,” Supervisor Greg Cox said. “It’s a way to leverage philanthropic dollars while minimizing risk to the public and saving taxpayers dollars.”
If a new way of providing a service works, the government will pay back the investors with a small amount of interest, according to a staff report.
Cox said the model has been successful in Massachusetts, New York and Utah, and is being tried in other places. The White House is providing technical assistance, he said.
Supervisor Ron Roberts called Pay for Success an “exciting new tool” for the county.