Publication Excerpt:

The Institute for Child Success, with funding from The Duke Endowment and South Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, studied the feasibility of using Pay for Success, an innovative new financing mechanism, to improve outcomes for South Carolina’s youth. The study found that it is feasible for the state to use this mechanism to scale up proven early childhood programs such as the Nurse-Family Partnership, a home visiting program for low-income first-time mothers. Pay for Success could improve the health and prospects of the state’s youth and use public-private partnerships to make government more accountable and efficient.

The Institute for Child Success is a research and policy organization dedicated to ensuring that South Carolina’s youngest children—from the prenatal stage through age five— succeed. By fostering public and private partnerships, ICS aligns and improves resources for young children, working toward its overall goal of a culture that enables all children to thrive.

The need is great. A child born in poverty in South Carolina faces a challenging future; the state ranks 45th in the country in child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s analysis of data on health, education, economic well-being, and family and community.

There are proven methods to improve such outcomes. Home visiting programs are one example: trained professionals provide services and support to pregnant women and families with young children, primarily during visits to families’ homes.