§1397n–2 Awarding Social Impact Partnership Agreements

Summary

Within 6 months of getting an application, the Secretary, after talking with the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships and any federal agency with a similar program, must decide whether to make a social impact partnership agreement with a state or local government. In making that decision, the Secretary will consider the Commission’s recommendations, the expected value and savings to federal and state/local governments if the project works, how likely the project is to succeed based on evidence, the planned evaluation’s quality, and whether the state or local government can keep the project going if it succeeds. The Secretary may enter an agreement only if certain conditions are met: the government agrees to reach specific outcomes that an independent evaluator will confirm before any payment; federal payments per outcome are no more than the federal value of that outcome over a period up to 10 years; the project lasts no more than 10 years; the application shows prior strong evidence the intervention can work; parties have experience raising private/philanthropic funds if needed and service providers have relevant experience. The Secretary will pay only after the independent evaluator confirms outcomes. Within 30 days of signing, the Secretary must publish a Federal Register notice listing the project goals, interventions, who will be served, expected benefits, roles of all parties, payment rules and math, budget, timeline, eligibility, evaluation plan and metrics, and estimated government savings. The Secretary may give another federal agency the authority and funds to run the agreement. At least 50 percent of federal payments under these agreements must go to initiatives that directly benefit children.