New South Wales region of Australia looks at boosting preschool education via SIBs…
Baird Government To Tap Private Investors To Boost Preschool Attendance In NSW
Kirsty Needham – SMH
The Baird government will turn to private investors to boost funding for preschool education and open adoptions.
NSW lags behind other states and fails to meet the national goal of all children attending 15 hours of preschool a week in the year before school.
Only 74% of four-year-olds attended a preschool in NSW, compared to 95% nationally.
NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian will call for proposals from investors to create government bonds to meet three new social targets:
- Increasing the number of children attending preschool for 15 hours a week in the year before school;
- Increasing the number of children aged under five in out-of-home care who find a permanent home through adoption;
- Funding teachers and programs for the Western Sydney Aboriginal Centre for Excellence.
The Baird government has pioneered the use of social impact bonds in Australia, a financial experiment that sees private investors fund social programs, and the government pay back a dividend when the program reaches targets that are agreed in advance.
A $7 million social impact bond issued in 2013 to fund a UnitingCare program that teaches good parenting skills to families in crisis, and restores children taken into state care to their families, has been deemed a success.
The bond delivered an 8.9% return to investors last year.
“Social impact investment gives us the opportunity to deliver better outcomes for our community while opening up new sources of funding,” said Ms Berejiklian.
The proposed social impact bond is designed to help NSW meet the stated national goal, the importance of children from Aboriginal and low-income families attending preschool, but won’t replace existing government-funded programs.