EUSARF 2014 Linda Mondy, Director, Out of Home Care the first social benefit bond in Australia - a new policy setting to improve outcomes for children in foster care

hoping you will gain… awareness of what a social benefit bond (SBB) is an idea of the challenges of defining, measuring and attributing outcomes in foster care the results of the Newpin SBB after 1 year learnings and excellent mistakes from the SBB experience

about Burnside 102 years old one of the largest providers of services to vulnerable children and families in NSW including intensive family support and foster care sophisticated management, finance, innovation and research skills no previous experience in the social finance world

our purpose our purpose is to create a fair and just society, inspiring people and communities through quality services, bold advocacy and influential research

Our approach is trauma informed, strengths based and solution focused with a strong focus on educational attainment in order to achieve outcomes that shape the best future for children and young people Newpin social benefit bond restoration pilot 447 carers 146 staff advocacy work capacity building with 2 Aboriginal foster care agencies $20M expenditure 2013/14 in foster care 305 children / young people in foster care, kinship care, intensive foster care and residential care snapshot located in Sydney and regional New South Wales 280 children & young people in sibling group homes, aftercare & intensive family preservation

what is Newpin? started in the UK and brought to Australia in 1998 intensive centre based, group work program for parents and infants underpinned by attachment theory and trauma informed practice requires a commitment of two days a week for around eighteen months non-judgemental relationships

Newpin - the context for change Newpin had been self-funded by UnitingCare for 12 years efforts to build a sustainable funding base had been exhausted we were set to close 2 of our 4 Newpin Centres in Western Sydney in 2013 then the NSW Government announced an SBB pilot

the problem to solve on 30 June 2012, there were 39,621 Australian children living in out-of-home care 17,192 of those children live in New South Wales (AIHW,2013)

what is a social benefit bond (SBB)? new approach to financing social services and encouraging innovation where governments, finance intermediaries, non-government service providers and socially minded investors come together to solve a ‘wicked’ problem raises private capital from investors for intensive support and prevention programs where results benefit all parties

the first social benefit bond pilot in Australia

what did we take to market? a $7 million Newpin SBB expansion from 4 to 10 Newpin centres expect to work with over 700 families over the 7 year SBB period expect to restore over 400 children to their families and to prevent 60 children entering care expect return to investors of 10-12% pa expect long-term government savings of $95m

who invested?

The SBB contract minimum referral guarantee detailed measurement of results confirmed by an independent auditor performance payments reversed if restorations break down external evaluation with matched control group

SBB contract safeguards savings only generated if Newpin achieves better family restoration and preservation outcomes relative to the ‘counterfactual’ Newpin results will be compared to a population with a similar risk and OOHC profile results metric must displace incentive to choose ‘easy’ cases

learnings … even before a single SBB dollar was raised, the SBB process offered us benefits in terms of: discipline results focus learning to use information and turning it into wise data to measure outcomes – measurement matters practice quality and rigour

excellent mistakes a too slow start to get enough referrals underestimating resistance

prepare to do the tough stuff

it ain’t easy there is no such thing as a ‘classic SBB model’ be prepared to think outside the box stay passionate but realise that you are working in complex space where patience and perseverance and speed are critical measurement matters

what do you need to start ? a program with measurable results and defined outcomes consistency with government policy goals track record or good research foundations a program model / innovation that: delivers significant short-to-medium term savings to government when outcomes are achieved

Newpin SBB families

breaking news: year 1 results we have just announced our results 28 children restored home (target 41) = 4 netball teams of children back at home 10 children prevented from going into state care achieved returns for investors – 7.5% government made savings Newpin program and data collection improved

recap…hoping you have gained awareness of what a social benefit bond (SBB) is an idea of the challenges of defining, measuring and attributing outcomes in foster care early results of the Newpin SBB lessons and excellent mistakes from the SBB experience

Thanks to all the Newpin families, staff, investors and the NSW government Linda Mondy Director, Out of Home Care