Mayor Ben McAdams says the county is again looking to the nonprofit community for program ideas that help address homelessness in the community. A third Pay for Success contract request has now been issued and interested groups have until Sept. 8th to apply.
McAdams said the latest Request for Proposals extends the county’s pioneering effort in following data and evidence to arrive at what works, and to only pay for specific outcomes that the county has identified that meet a social service need.
“We are committed to program service delivery that achieves a measurable improvement for the people we’re concerned about, while at the same time being respectful of the public’s tax dollars,” said McAdams. “The Pay for Success contract method is both innovative and practical, in that regard.”
McAdams says that in 2015, the Utah Homeless “point-in-time” count identified 10,125 homeless persons in the county. Of those, only 150 were “chronically” homeless. He said, however, the county has identified hundreds of homeless individuals who, data shows, are at risk for becoming chronically homeless without more targeted assistance – a group the county has termed “persistently homeless.” He said most are male and many have spent time in jail, as well as suffering from mental health or substance use disorders. McAdams says this homelessness project contract will focus on a group of individuals that spends three to 11 months over the course of a year in an emergency shelter. As with the county’s earlier Pay for Success contracts, McAdams says private funders will provide the funding up front, knowing that they’ll be repaid only if agreed-upon outcomes are achieved. The county works with an independent evaluator to examine the data and results, in order to be able to document the program’s effectiveness.
“We’ve made great strides in reducing homelessness. It is inhumane when people live on the streets or in makeshift camps. But also, homeless individuals often use the most costly means to get health care and public safety resources. We’re committed to working smarter and better for everyone we serve,” said McAdams.
Interested respondents can learn more by mailing or emailing Salt Lake County Contracts and Procurement, 2001 South State Street #N4500, Salt Lake City, UT 84190 or [email protected]. Questions may also be submitted to [email protected]. The solicitation number is MAY 16100.
More information on Mayor McAdams’ Pay for Success projects is available at www.slco.org/mayor/pay-for-success.
