The Ventura County Project to Support Reentry was a Pay for Success project between Ventura County, CA; Interface Children & Family Services; and Social Finance to reduce recidivism, improve public safety, and promote family stability for adults on formal probation in Ventura County. Through this partnership, impact investors provided upfront capital to fund individualized services for formerly incarcerated individuals and were repaid by Ventura County to the extent that measurable reductions in recidivism were achieved. A total of $2.59 million was mobilized to serve 346 adult probationers in medium-to-high-risk situations from 2017 to 2021. In doing so, the project achieved its goals of improving public safety and promoting family stability and economic opportunity for these individuals, who were previously excluded from other opportunities for support.
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Goals of the project
- Reduce recidivism, improve public safety, and promote family stability and economic opportunity for those on formal probation in Ventura County
- Expand high-quality services for a priority population that was excluded from other government-funded supportive services
- Support the policy priorities of the California Board of State and Community Corrections and Ventura County to improve life outcomes for recently incarcerated people and strengthen local communities
How It Works
County of Ventura
Made payments for outcomes achieved
Social Finance
Developed project, mobilized capital, managed for results
Interface Children & Family Services
Provided a customized suite of services
Program participants
Worked toward successful reentry, with the support of Interface
University of California, Los Angeles
Measured outcomes
Impact Investors
Provided upfront capital
Key Resources
Partners
Ventura County served as outcomes payor for this project.
Interface Children & Family Services received funding to deliver comprehensive reentry support services, including case management, Moral Reconation Therapy, and other evidence-based practices.
Social Finance supported the design, negotiation, and financial structuring of the project and managed the capital raise. Social Finance also coordinated performance management services for the duration of the project.
Dr. Nena Messina of the University of California, Los Angeles led the evaluation of the project.
The Board of State and Community Corrections provided funding to use toward outcome payments.
Jones Day served as legal counsel to Social Finance.
Wilmington Trust served as fiscal agent and custodian for this project.
Funders
The project’s funders include:
- Reinvestment Fund
- Nonprofit Finance Fund
- Blue Shield of California Foundation
- The Whitney Museum of American Art
Publications
- “How Integrating Government and Community-Based Services Can Help County Residents Thrive,” Social Finance
- “3 Key Lessons for Practitioners Using Data to Improve Social Outcomes,” Social Finance
- “What Drives Client Success in Pay for Success Projects?”, Social Finance
- “Pay for Success Scorecard: Lessons from the Vanguard of the Outcomes Movement,” The James Irvine Foundation and Nonprofit Finance Fund
- “California Pay for Success Final Reflections: How Can Outcomes-Based Funding Advance Racial Equity?,” Nonprofit Finance Fund
In the News
- “Government only pays for the positive outcomes.’ A strikingly new approach to social problems,” The Washington Post
- “‘Pay for Success’: An idea with bipartisan appeal,” Governing
- “Social Impact Bonds: Something Democrats and Republicans agree on,” Forbes
- “A new public finance tool to help the most vulnerable,” Time