family economic success in good budget times and bad

7/31/2019 Family Economic Success in Good Budget Times and Bad

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Arlene F. Lee

Center for the Study of Social Policy

April 28, 2012

NALEO

Results-based Public Policy:

Using Results To SupportFamily Economic Success,

In Good Budget Times And Bad


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Why Results-based Public Policy?

The current economic challenges

demand a research-informedapproach to public policy.

There are data and research canassist policymakers in the processof judging and justifying the

available policy options.

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Why focus on results?

Results build consensus.

Results apply the common sense approachof starting with the end and working

backwards to the means.

Results mobilize public support forchange.

Results demonstrate progress which leadsto more progress.

What is Results-based Public Policy?3


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What is Results-based Public Policy?

Results-based Public Policy

is using the desired outcome to drive theactions taken by government to address aparticular issue.

This decision-making process for developing

public policy starts with a clearly articulateddesired result or outcome to be achieved,assesses current circumstances, uses policyoptions that have demonstrated an ability to

achieve this outcome and evaluates progressthrough data and performance measures.

Based on Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough by Mark Friedman, www.resultsaccountability.org

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1- What Results Do You Want?

Identify thecondition of well-being you hope toachieve for children, youth and families.

2- How Are Your Kids?

Understand the progress made to date.

3- What Works?

Focus on policies that workto improve resultsfor children, youth and families.

4- How Can You Ensure Success?

Establishing accountabilitybefore and afterpolicies are implemented.

5- How Can You Sustain Success?

Financing and investing in results.

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A result is a goal for change or improvement,it represents the ends (the quality-of-life resultsfor children and families), rather than the means(the output of a program or system).

It drives decisions about policies, programs,practices and the investment of taxpayer dollars.

It establishes an aspiration that can be

measured by data. Without meaningful data orindicators to measure achievement, results arelittle more than good intentions.


Identify thecondition of well-being you hope to achieve for children, youthand families.

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Questions to ask:

What is the end you want to achieve?

How will you tell whether you areachieving results? What data will measureprogress?

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8/30What is Results-based Public Policy?

Babies Born Healthy Low Birth Weight

Births to Adolescents

Infant Mortality

Stable and Economically IndependentFamilies

Child Poverty

Single Parent Households Out-of-Home Placements Permanent Placements

Homeless Adults & Children

Marylands Results and Indicators

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Looking at the data tells you:

whether you are achieving results for children andfamilies

if your state is on the right course and

if efforts are havingthe desired impact.

Understanding the data:

identifies the forces that may affect the future and

helps identify strategies that will have a positive impacton results for children and families.

2- How Are Your Kids?Understand the progress made to date.

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Questions to ask:

What are the trends?

What are the projections for the future ifcurrent conditions remain unchanged?

What target would you set?

What is the story behind the data? Theinfluences and factors?


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http://datacenter.kidscount.org/


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Effective policies are based on research andon-the-ground experience.

Success stories provide examples andevidence that it is possible to impact indicatorsof well-being.

3- What Works?Focus on policies that workto improve results for children, youth andfamilies.

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Questions to ask:

What do we know from other statesabout what works?

What does success look like?


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Strategies:


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Control Household Costs Make Quality Child Care

Affordable

Increase Access to Health Care

Promote Affordable Housing

Reduce Predatory FinancialPractices

Curb Household Debt Cap Interest on Small Loans Prevent Mortgage Foreclosures

Enhance Banking Options

Increase HouseholdFinancial Resourcesand Assets Employment

Income Support

Enhance Short-Term /Emergency Savings

Encourage Long-TermSavings and Investment


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Increase Access to Work Supports, through strategies thatcan be paid for with federal funds.

Ensure that Eligible Families Receive Tax Benefits.

Make High-Quality, Affordable Child Care and Early EducationPrograms Accessible.

Provide Short-Term or One-Time Emergency Assistance withEmployment Expenses.

Protect Working Families from Predatory FinancialPractices, through strategies that can be enacted at nocost to the state.

Limit Check-Cashing Fees. Cap Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs).

Control Payday Lending.

Enact Protections Against Predatory Mortgage Lending.


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http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/


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Before implementation look at the conditionsrequired for success, explore the impact ofexisting policies and investigate impediments to

successful implementation.

Oversight of implementation requires monitoringresults (what we are trying to accomplish) and

monitoring performance (how we tried toaccomplish it).

4- How Can You Ensure Success?Establish accountabilitybefore and after policies are implemented.

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Questions to ask:

Before- What are the necessaryconditions for implementation?

After- Is there measurableimprovement in the data? Is anyone

better off?


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Connecticut Legislatures Turn the Curve Report forms


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Progress is driven by:

providing adequate funding levels;

maximizing returns on investments;

leveraging taxpayer dollars with private, non-monetary, and federal resources; and

providing incentives for continuingimprovement toward measurable outcomes.

5- How Can You Sustain Success?Financing and Investing in Results: What does it take?

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Questions to ask:

How can we invest in proven interventions?

Have we maximized federal funds? Can we leverage private funding?

Have we maximized state resources throughcoordination of funding in different agencies anddepartments?

What evidence do we have that shows this is agood investment of state general revenue?

5- How Can You Sustain Success?Financing and Investing in Results: What does it take?

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RBPP in Tight Fiscal Times

From Trying Hard Is Not Good Enough by Mark Friedman, www.resultsaccountability.org

Questions to Ask When Making ToughBudget Decisions

Results Questions How does this program, budget item or proposal

impact conditions of well-being for children andfamilies?

Performance Questions How does this program, budget item or proposal

impact the performance of key services? How muchdid this program do, and for which populations, duringthe last several fiscal years? How well did it do during

the past several fiscal years? Are the people thisprogram was created to serve better off as a result?

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RBPP Principles

Protect the most vulnerable. Recessions sharply increaseunemployment, homelessness, and hunger. Funding benefits andservices for people who need them most not only minimizeshuman suffering; it also reduces future costs to the state.

Focus on results. Focusing on measurable results can help setpriorities and guide decisions about the best use of scarceresources.

Maximize return on investment over the short and long

term. Especially when money is tight, it pays to invest in cost-effective services, programs and policies that provide immediatebenefits for children and families and that keep paying aschildren grow into productive adults.

Stimulate the economy by investing in children and

families. Providing financial support to struggling families whowill immediately spend it on necessities both quickly injectsmoney into the economy and benefits those most likely to behurt by the economic downturn.

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RBPP Principles

Strengthen community resources. In times ofhardship, many people turn to extended families,neighbors, faith groups, local food banks, and other

community resources. By investing in local assets,policymakers can strengthen neighborhoods, spur localinnovation and problem-solving, and tap the capacity ofcommunities to prevent the need for more extensiveassistance.

Seize the opportunity for reform. When budgets aretight, its easier to develop political consensus toeliminate well-intentioned but ineffective programs thatdont help vulnerable children and families. Tough times

provide impetus for changing the way decisions are madeand for building the capacity to make effective financing,budgeting and policy choices.

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Top 6 Reasons for RBPP in Tight Fiscal Times

1. A compelling vision. Powerful visions such as clearand compelling goals for improving childrens lives aremagnets for resources.

2. Aligning financing with results. The goal is to invest inpolicies, programs and practices that research andexperience indicate will contribute to better outcomes forchildren. Policymakers can act to ensure that desiredresults drive financing, instead of available funding drivingpolicy and programs.

3. Financing partnerships. Government policies, fundingstreams, and regulations have an enormous impact on thewell-being of residents. While cost shifting across levels

of government or between government and communitiescan have dire consequences, carefully crafted agreementsdeveloped in partnership can provide powerful incentives

for change.

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Top 6 Reasons for RBPP in Tight Fiscal Times

4. Packaging financing. No single financing approach willsupport the change required to achieve ambitious targetsfor improving childrens lives. The best results areaccomplished with financing packages that draw from awide array of resources, instead of getting stuck on asingle funding stream or financing approach.

5. Leveraging resources. Even small amounts of money

can be leveraged to have positive impact. For example,grants from foundations can provide seed money forshifting investments.

6. Effective use of existing resources. The number one

financing priority is to use resources that you alreadyhave to pay for better results. Fiscally responsibleapproaches that are accountable to taxpayers focus onspending existing funds in more effective ways.

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Traditional Approaches to Tough Budget Times

The usual responses:

Responding to worsening economicconditions by across the board budgetcuts, draining rainy day funds or

piecemeal revenue enhancements.

Fundingpet projects without regard toperformance.

Establishing policies without regard togoals and changing policies withoutdiagnosing the problems.

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Consider a Staged Approach

Plan budgets and programs in threestages:

The current crisis

The next 3-5 years

The next 5-10 years

The purpose behind a staged approach is to establish a senseof direction to focus investments and reduce the possibilitythat decisions made during the crisis will have long-term,

unintended consequences for families and children thatincrease the inequities that are tragically growing asunemployment and poverty deepen.

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Who is thiswebsite for?

State policymakers

To help make smartdecisions about

budget cuts andnew resources fromthe economicrecovery legislation

So policy decisionscan be driven bythe results they

want

RBPP Tools for Policymakers29


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30New Ideas, Smart Strategies, Better Results for Children and Families

1575 Eye Street NW, Suite 500

Washington DC, 20005tel. 202-371-1575

fax. 202-371-1462

www.cssp.org

family economic success in good budget times and bad

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