• by M. Posey
• January 15, 2020

Social service delivery is serious, complex, and expensive. The federal government spends hundreds of billions of dollars per year on these programs. And yet, this massive universe of funding is often not allocated based on which programs are the most effective or in a way that measures the impact of programs over time. We see a need to change that by supporting the federal government in connecting resources to results and driving the adoption and implementation of outcomes-oriented funding.

• by H. Kay Howard
• January 9, 2020

In a recent piece in CommonWealth Magazine, Third Sector Director, H. Kay Howard, argues for more funding in the form of a pay for success model to ensure better post-secondary outcomes for Massachusetts students.

• by S. Shainwald
• December 16, 2019

New partnerships and a growing field of knowledge allows us to make greater impact with your community. In this newsletter we look back on a few of Third Sector's 2019 highlights.

• by D. Peck & Z. Kamin
• December 10, 2019

In the midst of America’s ever-expanding mental health emergency, how can state and local governments design, deliver, and hold themselves accountable for effectively and equitably serving those most in need? For Dr. Jonathan Sherin, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH), the country’s largest mental health department, one answer was to pursue an outcomes-oriented redesign of the department’s most intensive mental health services and contracts.

• by S. GIllette & J. Kuang
• October 23, 2019

Washington State (WA) Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Secretary Ross Hunter opened with the quote above at the 2019 National TANF State Directors’ Meeting, Helping Families to Overcome: Partnering to Build a Stronger Society on September 18, in a session that was live streamed and recorded. Along with Ballmer Group’s Washington Executive Director Andi Smith and Third Sector CEO Caroline Whistler, Secretary Hunter presented on DCYF’s agency-wide journey to transition ~$1 billion across over 1000 social service contracts to be performance-based, using a data-informed, outcomes-focused approach to funding service provision that improves the lives of children and families across Washington state.

• by S. Shainwald
• October 31, 2019

Over the past few months we have had many opportunities to reflect on how our work is constantly evolving and adapting to new needs and lessons learned. Read about our latest work.