Agreement for a Social Impact Partnership Project, 12220-12222 [2022-04412]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12220-12222]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04412]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY


Agreement for a Social Impact Partnership Project

AGENCY: Department of the Treasury.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for 
Results Act (``SIPPRA''), the U.S. Department of the Treasury 
(``Treasury'') and Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise 
Services (``Oklahoma'') have entered into an agreement for a social 
impact partnership project (the ``Project Grant Agreement'').

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project Grant Agreement contains the 
following features:
    (1) The outcome goals of the social impact partnership project: The 
Women in Recovery (``WIR'') Pay for Success Project seeks to 
demonstrate stable employment and improved child welfare outcomes 
(reduced foster care involvement and contact with child protection 
services) for the target population.
    (2) A description of each intervention in the project: WIR is an 
intensive alternative to incarceration for women facing long-term 
prison sentences for non-violent offenses. WIR is specifically designed 
to address the complex needs and risks of justice-involved women. The 
program combines best practices from the mental health and criminal 
justice fields as well as the integration of gender-specific best 
practices and treatment models to reduce female incarceration. 
Experienced and trained professional staff provide an array of 
intensive evidence-based treatment and best practice comprehensive 
support and wraparound services within a three-phase, daily program 
structure. In addition to gender-specific treatment models, specialized 
program components address issues impacting women, including domestic 
violence, trauma, self-sufficiency, family reunification, parenting and 
children's issues.
    (3) The target population that will be served by the project: WIR 
targets justice-involved females 18 years old or older with substance 
use disorders, who are prison-bound and ineligible for other Tulsa 
County diversion programs.
    (4) The expected social benefits to participants who receive the 
intervention and others who may be impacted: WIR helps women conquer 
drug addiction, recover from trauma and acquire essential economic, 
emotional and social tools to build successful and productive lives, 
thus improving public safety and reducing recidivism while generating 
federal, state, and local financial value. With a focus on improving 
the lives of at-risk women and their children, WIR also seeks to break 
the cycle of intergenerational

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incarceration by strengthening and reuniting WIR mothers and their 
children.
    (5) The detailed roles, responsibilities, and purposes of each 
Federal, State, or local government entity, intermediary, service 
provider, independent evaluator, investor, or other stakeholder:
    Recipient. Oklahoma is the recipient, fiscal agent, and lead data 
sharing partner in the project.
    Service Provider. Family & Children's Services (``F&CS'') will 
deliver all the services for WIR. F&CS has a mission to promote, 
support and strengthen the well-being and behavioral health of adults, 
children and families. F&CS works closely with the criminal justice 
system and various community partners to ensure program participants 
receive supervision, substance abuse and mental health treatment, 
comprehensive case management, education, workforce readiness training 
and family reunification services. F&CS will collect, store, analyze, 
and share program-related data as needed for the independent 
evaluation, and will be the recipient of investor up-front capital 
funding for the project. F&CS will also be the recipient of all federal 
outcome payments earned through verification by the independent 
evaluation of value to the federal government.
    Investor. The George Kaiser Family Foundation (``GKFF'') is the 
primary upfront private investor for WIR. GKFF, in conjunction with 
other public/private sources, intends to provide F&CS with the annual 
capital to fund the delivery of WIR services.
    Evaluator. WestEd, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research, development, 
and service agency, will serve as the external independent evaluator 
for the project. WestEd will design and implement the evaluation, 
measure the impact and value of the WIR program across all outcome 
measures, report the results to all entities of the project, and verify 
the value to the federal government for the purposes of federal outcome 
payments.
    (6) The payment terms, the methodology used to calculate outcome 
payments, the payment schedule, and performance thresholds: The project 
has two outcome domains, employment and child welfare, and will deliver 
services to two different cohorts. If the project is successful, four 
payments will be made in total, two for each cohort. For each cohort a 
payment will be made for outcomes achieved at 18 months post-enrollment 
and a second payment will be made for outcomes achieved at 30 months 
post-enrollment. The 30-month outcomes will only look at impact that 
occurred since the 18-month time point, as federal outcome payments 
will have already been realized for impact that occurred during the 
first 18 months. Each cohort will be eligible for one payment for each 
outcome domain: Employment and child welfare. Each outcome valuation 
will be conducted independently, and the realization of outcome 
payments related to one outcome domain will not be contingent on the 
results from any other outcome domain.
    For child welfare, the independent evaluation will compare the 
results of the treatment group to the results of the comparison group 
and only validate a request for outcome payments for the level of 
success and federal value achieved within the identified range.
    To calculate the outcome payment for federal value for the 
employment outcome, the independent evaluator will take the estimate of 
the increase in wages from the treatment and calculate the resulting 
federal value.
    (7) The project budget:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Sources            Uses
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.1 Public & private grant funding..        $6,997,594  ................
8.2 State outcome payments..........         6,419,828  ................
8.3 Investor (GKFF).................        12,326,544  ................
8.4 Service provider cost (F&CS WIR)  ................       $25,743,966
8.5 Federal outcome payments........         3,367,085  ................
8.6 WIR Sustainability..............  ................         3,367,085
8.7 Federal evaluation funding......           505,063  ................
8.8 Evaluator Budget................  ................           505,063
8.9 Intermediary....................                 0                 0
                                     -----------------------------------
    Total...........................        29,616,114        29,616,114
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (8) The project timeline:

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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN03MR22.018

    (9) The project eligibility criteria: All participants are women 
with substance abuse issues who are at imminent risk for incarceration 
and ineligible for other drug or mental health court and jail diversion 
programs. All eligible women receive a standardized, gender-specific 
risk assessment to determine their risk, needs and treatment readiness. 
WIR then advocates and collaborates with the local prosecutor, court 
services and judges to make a final decision on admission to the WIR 
program. All participants must be able, emotionally and mentally, to 
receive services in an outpatient environment, voluntarily consent to 
services and work collaboratively with the treatment team under a 
comprehensive treatment plan.
    (10) The evaluation design: WestEd will lead a quasi-experiment 
matched comparison study using logistic regression and ordinary least 
squares regression. The proposed project, evaluation methods, and 
anticipated outcomes are designed in a way to produce rigorous evidence 
that participant outcomes are not due to random chance or some other 
observable force. The reliance on state and local administrative data 
sources reduced (essentially removes) the chance that outcome measures 
can be manipulated by service providers, intermediaries, or investors. 
To further mitigate this chance, WestEd will include a number of steps 
to ensure the independence and integrity of the evaluation process.
    (11) The metrics that will be used in the evaluation to determine 
whether the outcomes have been achieved as a result of each 
intervention and how these metrics will be measured: The project will 
be evaluated using a quasi-experimental design study. The treatment 
group shall consist of individuals who have been enrolled in the WIR 
program. The control group shall be a matched comparison group, 
consisting of female prison receptions and releases outside of Tulsa 
County who did not receive WIR or other comparable services. The 
results of the treatment group will be compared to the results of the 
comparison group across all outcome measures.
    (12) The estimate of the savings to the Federal, State, and local 
government, on a program-by-program basis and in the aggregate, if the 
agreement is entered into and implemented and the outcomes are achieved 
as a result of each intervention:
    Federal Savings: $3,367,085.
    Oklahoma expects state and local savings to be realized by reduced 
public sector costs related to incarceration, parole supervision, 
homelessness, and child welfare. Oklahoma also expects an increase in 
tax revenue and contributions to the local economy.

Catherine Wolfram,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Climate and Energy Economics, Office of 
Economic Policy.
[FR Doc. 2022-04412 Filed 3-2-22; 8:45 am]
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