Blog

Left to Right: Nicole Truhe of America Forward, Chris Ellis of United Way of Salt Lake, Gary Glickman of Accenture, Jeremy Keele of University of Utah Policy Innovation Lab and Bryan Boroughs of Institute for Child Success presenting a panel entitled: Policy and Legislative Issues for Early Childhood PFS.

Earlier this week America Forward had the opportunity to participate in the 2nd annual Early Childhood Social Impact Performance Advisors Conference. The event, co-hosted by Institute for Child Success, an America Forward Coalition member, and Ready Nation, brought together federal, state and local government leaders, philanthropy, impact investors, advocates and supporters of the expanding interest and focus on pay for success (PFS) in early childhood. With support from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative of the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, this three-day event highlighted the interest, impact, and possibility of using PFS to advance the outcomes we all seek for our youngest Americans.

America Forward Coalition members Third Sector Capital Partners and Social Finance led well-attended sessions focused on the role of local government in pay for success and what investors should know to engage in PFS for early childhood development. In addition, America Forward Government Affairs Director Nicole Truhe presented on a panel entitled: Policy and Legislative Issues for Early Childhood PFS. Nicole with her fellow panelists Chris Ellis from the United Way of Salt Lake City, Gary Glickman from Accenture, Jeremy Keele of the Policy Innovation Lab at the University of the Utah and Bryan Boroughs of the Institute for Child Success updated the summit attendees on the current state of federal and state legislative activity, the importance and potential impact of the passage of specific pieces of legislation, and what is needed to advance PFS through state capitols and the U.S. Capitol alike.

Two PFS projects focused on early childhood have already launched—one in Utah focused on high-quality early education so that children are better prepared to enter kindergarten with fewer children needing special education or remedial services and the other in Chicago addressing kindergarten readiness, third-grade literacy, and special education needs through the use of a child-parent early childhood education center-based model. It was clear from the discussions and active participation at the summit, that there is widespread interest across the country in using PFS to support even more innovative and outcomes-based early childhood interventions across the country.

Pay for Success can be the bridge between the future we see coming towards and the future we hope for and want. Ensuring the best future possible for our young people is why Pay for Success in early childhood just makes sense.

Learn more about America Forward’s work on Pay for Success here.