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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§1397n–1 Social Impact Partnership Application

Title 42 › CHAPTER 7 — SOCIAL SECURITY › SUBCHAPTER XX — BLOCK GRANTS AND PROGRAMS FOR SOCIAL SERVICES AND ELDER JUSTICE › § 1397n–1

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Not later than 1 year after February 9, 2018, the Secretary of the Treasury must publish in the Federal Register, after consulting the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships, a call for States or local governments to submit proposals for social impact partnership projects. Projects must deliver one or more clear, measurable results that create social good and save Federal, State, or local money. The law lists 21 types of outcomes, including things like higher employment and earnings (for long-term unemployed people, youth ages 16–24, people on disability, and returning veterans), less reliance on means-tested benefits, better high school graduation rates, fewer teen pregnancies, healthier births and early childhood outcomes, fewer preventable illnesses and emergency care visits, stronger family stability, less child abuse and fewer children in foster care or group homes or returning to care, lower recidivism, less homelessness, better mental and behavioral health, improved education for special-needs or low-income children, greater financial stability for low-income families, more independence and job-readiness for people with disabilities, and other measurable state-defined outcomes. The application must explain the project’s goals, each intervention, the proof that the intervention can work, who will be served, expected benefits, the budget and timeline, projected costs and savings (including an estimate of Federal savings by program and in total), payment terms and how outcome payments are calculated, eligibility and enrollment rules, the evaluation plan and independent metrics, and the roles and experience of the government, intermediaries, service providers, evaluators, and investors. The application must show provider capacity to serve the planned number of people and any plan to continue successful interventions after the project period. For any intermediary, the application must describe its mission, experience, partnerships, funding ability, role, and capacity to track and monitor outcomes. States or local governments may include information from a feasibility study that was done for another purpose.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §1397n–1

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Notice
Not later than 1 year after February 9, 2018, the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact Partnerships, shall publish in the Federal Register a request for proposals from States or local governments for social impact partnership projects in accordance with this section.
(b)Required outcomes for social impact partnership project
To qualify as a social impact partnership project under this division, a project must produce one or more measurable, clearly defined outcomes that result in social benefit and Federal, State, or local savings through any of the following:
(1)Increasing work and earnings by individuals in the United States who are unemployed for more than 6 consecutive months.
(2)Increasing employment and earnings of individuals who have attained 16 years of age but not 25 years of age.
(3)Increasing employment among individuals receiving Federal disability benefits.
(4)Reducing the dependence of low-income families on Federal means-tested benefits.
(5)Improving rates of high school graduation.
(6)Reducing teen and unplanned pregnancies.
(7)Improving birth outcomes and early childhood health and development among low-income families and individuals.
(8)Reducing rates of asthma, diabetes, or other preventable diseases among low-income families and individuals to reduce the utilization of emergency and other high-cost care.
(9)Increasing the proportion of children living in two-parent families.
(10)Reducing incidences and adverse consequences of child abuse and neglect.
(11)Reducing the number of youth in foster care by increasing adoptions, permanent guardianship arrangements, reunifications, or placements with a fit and willing relative, or by avoiding placing children in foster care by ensuring they can be cared for safely in their own homes.
(12)Reducing the number of children and youth in foster care residing in group homes, child care institutions, agency-operated foster homes, or other non-family foster homes, unless it is determined that it is in the interest of the child’s long-term health, safety, or psychological well-being to not be placed in a family foster home.
(13)Reducing the number of children returning to foster care.
(14)Reducing recidivism among juvenile offenders, individuals released from prison, or other high-risk populations.
(15)Reducing the rate of homelessness among our most vulnerable populations.
(16)Improving the health and well-being of those with mental, emotional, and behavioral health needs.
(17)Improving the educational outcomes of special-needs or low-income children.
(18)Improving the employment and well-being of returning United States military members.
(19)Increasing the financial stability of low-income families.
(20)Increasing the independence and employability of individuals who are physically or mentally disabled.
(21)Other measurable outcomes defined by the State or local government that result in positive social outcomes and Federal savings.
(c)Application required
The notice described in subsection (a) shall require a State or local government to submit an application for the social impact partnership project that addresses the following:
(1)The outcome goals of the project.
(2)A description of each intervention in the project and anticipated outcomes of the intervention.
(3)Rigorous evidence demonstrating that the intervention can be expected to produce the desired outcomes.
(4)The target population that will be served by the project.
(5)The expected social benefits to participants who receive the intervention and others who may be impacted.
(6)Projected Federal, State, and local government costs and other costs to conduct the project.
(7)Projected Federal, State, and local government savings and other savings, including an estimate of the savings to the Federal Government, on a program-by-program basis and in the aggregate, if the project is implemented and the outcomes are achieved as a result of the intervention.
(8)If savings resulting from the successful completion of the project are estimated to accrue to the State or local government, the likelihood of the State or local government to realize those savings.
(9)A plan for delivering the intervention through a social impact partnership model.
(10)A description of the expertise of each service provider that will administer the intervention, including a summary of the experience of the service provider in delivering the proposed intervention or a similar intervention, or demonstrating that the service provider has the expertise necessary to deliver the proposed intervention.
(11)An explanation of the experience of the State or local government, the intermediary, or the service provider in raising private and philanthropic capital to fund social service investments.
(12)The detailed roles and responsibilities of each entity involved in the project, including any State or local government entity, intermediary, service provider, independent evaluator, investor, or other stakeholder.
(13)A summary of the experience of the service provider in delivering the proposed intervention or a similar intervention, or a summary demonstrating the service provider has the expertise necessary to deliver the proposed intervention.
(14)A summary of the unmet need in the area where the intervention will be delivered or among the target population who will receive the intervention.
(15)The proposed payment terms, the methodology used to calculate outcome payments, the payment schedule, and performance thresholds.
(16)The project budget.
(17)The project timeline.
(18)The criteria used to determine the eligibility of an individual for the project, including how selected populations will be identified, how they will be referred to the project, and how they will be enrolled in the project.
(19)The evaluation design.
(20)The metrics that will be used in the evaluation to determine whether the outcomes have been achieved as a result of the intervention and how the metrics will be measured.
(21)An explanation of how the metrics used in the evaluation to determine whether the outcomes achieved as a result of the intervention are independent, objective indicators of impact and are not subject to manipulation by the service provider, intermediary, or investor.
(22)A summary explaining the independence of the evaluator from the other entities involved in the project and the evaluator’s experience in conducting rigorous evaluations of program effectiveness including, where available, well-implemented randomized controlled trials on the intervention or similar interventions.
(23)The capacity of the service provider to deliver the intervention to the number of participants the State or local government proposes to serve in the project.
(24)A description of whether and how the State or local government and service providers plan to sustain the intervention, if it is timely and appropriate to do so, to ensure that successful interventions continue to operate after the period of the social impact partnership.
(d)Project intermediary information required
The application described in subsection (c) shall also contain the following information about any intermediary for the social impact partnership project (whether an intermediary is a service provider or other entity):
(1)Experience and capacity for providing or facilitating the provision of the type of intervention proposed.
(2)The mission and goals.
(3)Information on whether the intermediary is already working with service providers that provide this intervention or an explanation of the capacity of the intermediary to begin working with service providers to provide the intervention.
(4)Experience working in a collaborative environment across government and nongovernmental entities.
(5)Previous experience collaborating with public or private entities to implement evidence-based programs.
(6)Ability to raise or provide funding to cover operating costs (if applicable to the project).
(7)Capacity and infrastructure to track outcomes and measure results, including—
(A)capacity to track and analyze program performance and assess program impact; and
(B)experience with performance-based awards or performance-based contracting and achieving project milestones and targets.
(8)Role in delivering the intervention.
(9)How the intermediary would monitor program success, including a description of the interim benchmarks and outcome measures.
(e)Feasibility studies funded through other sources
The notice described in subsection (a) shall permit a State or local government to submit an application for social impact partnership funding that contains information from a feasibility study developed for purposes other than applying for funding under this division.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 1397n–1

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110