ResultsOHIO Initiative Garners More Statewide Support

Business leaders, health care advocates, and policy experts continue to rally around the ResultsOHIO initiative. Under Treasurer Sprague’s proposal, a new fund will be created and administered by the Treasurer’s office that will help Ohio in addressing its most pressing social and public health challenges. 

 

Here’s what they’re saying:

 

“The ResultsOHIO program protects taxpayer dollars by ensuring Ohio’s resources are invested in pursuing positive outcomes. The program’s pay-for-success framework would be a significant tool in our efforts to curb infant mortality and boost the health of babies and moms. We applaud Treasurer Sprague’s initiative and believe it will help in combatting some of the most pressing public health challenges facing Ohio.”

 

"The Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber supports Treasurer Sprague’s pay for success model. Whether its workforce development, the opioid epidemic, or the myriad of other challenges facing the Mahoning Valley, identifying and supporting successful public-private partnerships that address these policy issues is of great importance. This model is fiscally responsible to taxpayers in that it embraces projects that are proven to be effective, rather than funding statewide programs that may have little impact locally or regionally.”

 

“The ResultsOHIO fund will support pay for success initiatives championed by the DeWine Administration and the General Assembly to take on the social and public health challenges facing Ohio such as the opioid epidemic, infant mortality, and lead poisoning. This allows the state to direct its efforts toward initiatives that are proven effective rather than wasting taxpayer dollars on failed programs. The timing of ResultsOHIO could not be any better in the world of children services, as there is a new federal opportunity for states to develop evidence-based interventions with a fifty-fifty match that would prevent children from coming into foster care. ResultsOHIO could be the incubator of new evidence-based services for Ohio to test and grow before committing federal and state funding statewide.”

 

“Over CareSource’s 30-year history serving low-income populations we have grown to understand the value of solution driven investments that incentivizes success. We applaud the efforts of Treasure Sprague in developing the ResultsOHIO program and look forward to supporting this initiative as a way to promote effective and fiscally responsible solutions to social challenges in the State of Ohio.” 

 

“Maximizing impact and ensuring a strong return on investment are central to any initiative with a long-term view – and those goals are at the core of ResultsOHIO. The Treasurer’s pay for success model has the potential to support the very best and most effective solutions put forth by the private and nonprofit sectors to address issues like workforce development, health care and behavioral health services, the needs of our seniors and individuals with special needs, and areas as critical as crisis response and community resiliency.

 

“We have seen the success of similar programs piloted by our community’s peer agencies in other states, and we are excited to have the chance to see such opportunities take root in Ohio. We applaud Treasurer Sprague for his visionary leadership, and we are grateful to Senator Steve Wilson and Representative Don Manning for leading the legislative effort to make this innovative public-private-nonprofit partnership a reality.”  

 

“It is frequently difficult to determine the real return on investment for many projects that get taxpayer dollars. Too often situations emerge where an agency that has an incentive to spend money is able to tilt perception by controlling all of the data needed to determine programmatic efficacy. The Treasurer is looking to make that process better and make sure that the information used to determine various programs' success is legitimate.”

 

First announced in late-March, the ResultsOHIO initiative quickly earned support from members of the business and health care communities. Under the proposal, a fund will be established to support pay for success initiatives aimed at tackling the social and public health challenges facing Ohio. By leveraging the fund, Ohio can direct its efforts towards initiatives that are proven effective before a single taxpayer dollar is invested. 

 

Private entities enlisted to address these challenges bear all upfront costs of services provided through the duration of a particular project. Performance measurements will be agreed to in a contract prior to the start of any project and used to gauge the project’s success. Public dollars reserved in the ResultsOHIO fund will be used to reimburse private entities for project costs only if the completed initiative has proven to meet the performance measurements identified in the contract.

 

State Senator Steve Wilson and State Representative Don Manning have each introduced legislation to create the fund, which would be administered by the Ohio Treasurer’s office. While the bills are pending before their respective legislative chambers, the Ohio House included the ResultsOHIO enabling language in their as-passed version of the biennial budget.