I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 576 

To encourage and support partnerships between the public and private sectors 

to improve our Nation’s social programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2017 

Mr. TIBERI (for himself, Mr. DELANEY, Mr. MACARTHUR, Mr. LARSON of 

Connecticut, Mr. POLIS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, 

Mrs. WALORSKI, and Mr. PAULSEN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to 

the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be 

subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 

of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To encourage and support partnerships between the public 

and private sectors to improve our Nation’s social programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Social Impact Partner5 ships to Pay for Results Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIPS TO PAY FOR RE2 SULTS. 

3 Section 403 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 603) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(c) SOCIAL IMPACT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this sub7 section are the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) To improve the lives of families and 

9 individuals in need in the United States by 

10 funding social programs that achieve real re11 sults. 

12 ‘‘(B) To redirect funds away from pro13 grams that, based on objective data, are ineffec14 tive, and into programs that achieve demon15 strable, measurable results. 

16 ‘‘(C) To ensure Federal funds are used ef17 fectively on social services to produce positive 

18 outcomes for both service recipients and tax19 payers. 

20 ‘‘(D) To establish the use of social impact 

21 partnerships to address some of our Nation’s 

22 most pressing problems. 

23 ‘‘(E) To facilitate the creation of public24 private partnerships that bundle philanthropic 

25 or other private resources with existing public 

26 spending to scale up effective social intervenVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jan 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H576.IH H576

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1 tions already being implemented by private or2 ganizations, nonprofits, charitable organiza3 tions, and State and local governments across 

4 the country. 

5 ‘‘(F) To bring pay-for-performance to the 

6 social sector, allowing the United States to im7 prove the impact and effectiveness of vital social 

8 services programs while redirecting inefficient 

9 or duplicative spending. 

10 ‘‘(G) To incorporate outcomes measure11 ment and randomized controlled trials or other 

12 rigorous methodologies for assessing program 

13 impact. 

14 ‘‘(2) SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP APPLICA15 TION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.—Not later than 1 year after 

17 the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

18 the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 

19 with the Federal Interagency Council on Social 

20 Impact Partnerships, shall publish in the Fed21 eral Register a request for proposals from 

22 States or local governments for social impact 

23 partnership projects in accordance with this 

24 paragraph. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED OUTCOMES FOR SOCIAL

2 IMPACT PARTNERSHIP PROJECT.—To qualify as 

3 a social impact partnership project under this 

4 subsection, a project must produce one or more 

5 measurable, clearly defined outcomes that result 

6 in social benefit and Federal, State, or local 

7 savings through any of the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) Increasing work and earnings by 

9 individuals in the United States who are 

10 unemployed for more than 6 consecutive 

11 months. 

12 ‘‘(ii) Increasing employment and earn13 ings of individuals who have attained 16 

14 years of age but not 25 years of age. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Increasing employment among 

16 individuals receiving Federal disability ben17 efits. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Reducing the dependence of low19 income families on Federal means-tested 

20 benefits. 

21 ‘‘(v) Improving rates of high school 

22 graduation. 

23 ‘‘(vi) Reducing teen and unplanned 

24 pregnancies. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) Improving birth outcomes and 

2 early childhood health and development 

3 among low-income families and individuals. 

4 ‘‘(viii) Reducing rates of asthma, dia5 betes, or other preventable diseases among 

6 low-income families and individuals to re7 duce the utilization of emergency and other 

8 high-cost care. 

9 ‘‘(ix) Increasing the proportion of chil10 dren living in two-parent families. 

11 ‘‘(x) Reducing incidences and adverse 

12 consequences of child abuse and neglect. 

13 ‘‘(xi) Reducing the number of youth 

14 in foster care by increasing adoptions, per15 manent guardianship arrangements, reuni16 fications, or placements with a fit and will17 ing relative, or by avoiding placing children 

18 in foster care by ensuring they can be 

19 cared for safely in their own homes. 

20 ‘‘(xii) Reducing the number of chil21 dren and youth in foster care residing in 

22 group homes, child care institutions, agen23 cy-operated foster homes, or other non24 family foster homes, unless it is deter25 mined that it is in the interest of the 


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1 child’s long-term health, safety, or psycho2 logical well-being to not be placed in a 

3 family foster home. 

4 ‘‘(xiii) Reducing the number of chil5 dren returning to foster care. 

6 ‘‘(xiv) Reducing recidivism among ju7 venile offenders, individuals released from 

8 prison, or other high-risk populations. 

9 ‘‘(xv) Reducing the rate of homeless10 ness among our most vulnerable popu11 lations. 

12 ‘‘(xvi) Improving the health and well13 being of those with mental, emotional, and 

14 behavioral health needs. 

15 ‘‘(xvii) Improving the educational out16 comes of special-needs or low-income chil17 dren. 

18 ‘‘(xviii) Improving the employment 

19 and well-being of returning United States 

20 military members. 

21 ‘‘(xix) Increasing the financial sta22 bility of low-income families. 

23 ‘‘(xx) Increasing the independence and 

24 employability of individuals who are phys25 ically or mentally disabled. 


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1 ‘‘(xxi) Other measurable outcomes de2 fined by the State or local government that 

3 result in positive social outcomes and Fed4 eral savings. 

5 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—The notice 

6 described in subparagraph (A) shall require a 

7 State or local government to submit an applica8 tion for the social impact partnership project 

9 that addresses the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The outcome goals of the project. 

11 ‘‘(ii) A description of each interven12 tion in the project and anticipated out13 comes of the intervention. 

14 ‘‘(iii) Rigorous evidence demonstrating 

15 that the intervention can be expected to 

16 produce the desired outcomes. 

17 ‘‘(iv) The target population that will 

18 be served by the project. 

19 ‘‘(v) The expected social benefits to 

20 participants who receive the intervention 

21 and others who may be impacted. 

22 ‘‘(vi) Projected Federal, State, and 

23 local government costs and other costs to 

24 conduct the project. 


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1 ‘‘(vii) Projected Federal, State, and 

2 local government savings and other sav3 ings, including an estimate of the savings 

4 to the Federal Government, on a program5 by-program basis and in the aggregate, if 

6 the project is implemented and the out7 comes are achieved as a result of the inter8 vention. 

9 ‘‘(viii) If savings resulting from the 

10 successful completion of the project are es11 timated to accrue to the State or local gov12 ernment, the likelihood of the State or 

13 local government to realize those savings. 

14 ‘‘(ix) A plan for delivering the inter15 vention through a social impact partner16 ship model. 

17 ‘‘(x) A description of the expertise of 

18 each service provider that will administer 

19 the intervention, including a summary of 

20 the experience of the service provider in 

21 delivering the proposed intervention or a 

22 similar intervention, or demonstrating that 

23 the service provider has the expertise nec24 essary to deliver the proposed intervention. 


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1 ‘‘(xi) An explanation of the experience 

2 of the State or local government, the inter3 mediary, or the service provider in raising 

4 private and philanthropic capital to fund 

5 social service investments. 

6 ‘‘(xii) The detailed roles and respon7 sibilities of each entity involved in the 

8 project, including any State or local gov9 ernment entity, intermediary, service pro10 vider, independent evaluator, investor, or 

11 other stakeholder. 

12 ‘‘(xiii) A summary of the experience of 

13 the service provider in delivering the pro14 posed intervention or a similar interven15 tion, or a summary demonstrating the 

16 service provider has the expertise necessary 

17 to deliver the proposed intervention. 

18 ‘‘(xiv) A summary of the unmet need 

19 in the area where the intervention will be 

20 delivered or among the target population 

21 who will receive the intervention. 

22 ‘‘(xv) The proposed payment terms, 

23 the methodology used to calculate outcome 

24 payments, the payment schedule, and per25 formance thresholds. 


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1 ‘‘(xvi) The project budget. 

2 ‘‘(xvii) The project timeline. 

3 ‘‘(xviii) The criteria used to determine 

4 the eligibility of an individual for the 

5 project, including how selected populations 

6 will be identified, how they will be referred 

7 to the project, and how they will be en8 rolled in the project. 

9 ‘‘(xix) The evaluation design. 

10 ‘‘(xx) The metrics that will be used in 

11 the evaluation to determine whether the 

12 outcomes have been achieved as a result of 

13 the intervention and how the metrics will 

14 be measured. 

15 ‘‘(xxi) An explanation of how the 

16 metrics used in the evaluation to determine 

17 whether the outcomes achieved as a result 

18 of the intervention are independent, objec19 tive indicators of impact and are not sub20 ject to manipulation by the service pro21 vider, intermediary, or investor. 

22 ‘‘(xxii) A summary explaining the 

23 independence of the evaluator from the 

24 other entities involved in the project and 

25 the evaluator’s experience in conducting 


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1 rigorous evaluations of program effective2 ness including, where available, well-imple3 mented randomized controlled trials on the 

4 intervention or similar interventions. 

5 ‘‘(xxiii) The capacity of the service 

6 provider to deliver the intervention to the 

7 number of participants the State or local 

8 government proposes to serve in the 

9 project. 

10 ‘‘(xxiv) A description of whether and 

11 how the State or local government and 

12 service providers plan to sustain the inter13 vention, if it is timely and appropriate to 

14 do so, to ensure that successful interven15 tions continue to operate after the period 

16 of the social impact partnership. 

17 ‘‘(D) PROJECT INTERMEDIARY INFORMA18 TION REQUIRED.—The application described in 

19 subparagraph (C) shall also contain the fol20 lowing information about any intermediary for 

21 the social impact partnership project (whether 

22 an intermediary is a service provider or other 

23 entity): 


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1 ‘‘(i) Experience and capacity for pro2 viding or facilitating the provision of the 

3 type of intervention proposed. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The mission and goals. 

5 ‘‘(iii) Information on whether the 

6 intermediary is already working with serv7 ice providers that provide this intervention 

8 or an explanation of the capacity of the 

9 intermediary to begin working with service 

10 providers to provide the intervention. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Experience working in a collabo12 rative environment across government and 

13 nongovernmental entities. 

14 ‘‘(v) Previous experience collaborating 

15 with public or private entities to implement 

16 evidence-based programs. 

17 ‘‘(vi) Ability to raise or provide fund18 ing to cover operating costs (if applicable 

19 to the project). 

20 ‘‘(vii) Capacity and infrastructure to 

21 track outcomes and measure results, in22 cluding— 

23 ‘‘(I) capacity to track and ana24 lyze program performance and assess 

25 program impact; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) experience with perform2 ance-based awards or performance3 based contracting and achieving 

4 project milestones and targets. 

5 ‘‘(viii) Role in delivering the interven6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(ix) How the intermediary would 

8 monitor program success, including a de9 scription of the interim benchmarks and 

10 outcome measures. 

11 ‘‘(E) FEASIBILITY STUDIES FUNDED

12 THROUGH OTHER SOURCES.—The notice de13 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall permit a 

14 State or local government to submit an applica15 tion for social impact partnership funding that 

16 contains information from a feasibility study 

17 developed for purposes other than applying for 

18 funding under this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(3) AWARDING SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP

20 AGREEMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) TIMELINE IN AWARDING AGREE22 MENT.—Not later than 6 months after receiving 

23 an application in accordance with paragraph 

24 (2), the Secretary, in consultation with the Fed25 eral Interagency Council on Social Impact PartVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jan 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H576.IH H576

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1 nerships, shall determine whether to enter into 

2 an agreement for a social impact partnership 

3 project with a State or local government. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS IN AWARDING

5 AGREEMENT.—In determining whether to enter 

6 into an agreement for a social impact partner7 ship project (the application for which was sub8 mitted under paragraph (2)) the Secretary, in 

9 consultation with the Federal Interagency 

10 Council on Social Impact Partnerships (estab11 lished by paragraph (6)) and the head of any 

12 Federal agency administering a similar inter13 vention or serving a population similar to that 

14 served by the project, shall consider each of the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(i) The recommendations made by 

17 the Commission on Social Impact Partner18 ships. 

19 ‘‘(ii) The value to the Federal Govern20 ment of the outcomes expected to be 

21 achieved if the outcomes specified in the 

22 agreement are achieved as a result of the 

23 intervention. 

24 ‘‘(iii) The likelihood, based on evi25 dence provided in the application and other 


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1 evidence, that the State or local govern2 ment in collaboration with the inter3 mediary and the service providers will 

4 achieve the outcomes. 

5 ‘‘(iv) The savings to the Federal Gov6 ernment if the outcomes specified in the 

7 agreement are achieved as a result of the 

8 intervention. 

9 ‘‘(v) The savings to the State and 

10 local governments if the outcomes specified 

11 in the agreement are achieved as a result 

12 of the intervention. 

13 ‘‘(vi) The expected quality of the eval14 uation that would be conducted with re15 spect to the agreement. 

16 ‘‘(vii) The capacity and commitment 

17 of the State or local government to sustain 

18 the intervention, if appropriate and timely 

19 and if the intervention is successful, be20 yond the period of the social impact part21 nership. 

22 ‘‘(C) AGREEMENT AUTHORITY.— 

23 ‘‘(i) AGREEMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 In accordance with this paragraph, the 

25 Secretary, in consultation with the Federal 


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1 Interagency Council on Social Impact 

2 Partnerships and the head of any Federal 

3 agency administering a similar intervention 

4 or serving a population similar to that 

5 served by the project, may enter into an 

6 agreement for a social impact partnership 

7 project with a State or local government if 

8 the Secretary, in consultation with the 

9 Federal Interagency Council on Social Im10 pact Partnerships, determines that each of 

11 the following requirements are met: 

12 ‘‘(I) The State or local govern13 ment agrees to achieve one or more 

14 outcomes as a result of the interven15 tion, as specified in the agreement 

16 and validated by independent evalua17 tion, in order to receive payment. 

18 ‘‘(II) The Federal payment to the 

19 State or local government for each 

20 specified outcome achieved as a result 

21 of the intervention is less than or 

22 equal to the value of the outcome to 

23 the Federal Government over a period 

24 not to exceed 10 years, as determined 


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1 by the Secretary, in consultation with 

2 the State or local government. 

3 ‘‘(III) The duration of the 

4 project does not exceed 10 years. 

5 ‘‘(IV) The State or local govern6 ment has demonstrated, through the 

7 application submitted under para8 graph (2), that, based on prior rig9 orous experimental evaluations or rig10 orous quasi-experimental studies, the 

11 intervention can be expected to 

12 achieve each outcome specified in the 

13 agreement. 

14 ‘‘(V) The State, local govern15 ment, intermediary, or service pro16 vider has experience raising private or 

17 philanthropic capital to fund social 

18 service investments (if applicable to 

19 the project). 

20 ‘‘(VI) The State or local govern21 ment has shown that each service pro22 vider has experience delivering the 

23 intervention, a similar intervention, or 

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1 tise necessary to deliver the interven2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(ii) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall 

4 pay the State or local government only if 

5 the independent evaluator described in 

6 paragraph (5) determines that the social 

7 impact partnership project has met the re8 quirements specified in the agreement and 

9 achieved an outcome as a result of the 

10 intervention, as specified in the agreement 

11 and validated by independent evaluation. 

12 ‘‘(D) NOTICE OF AGREEMENT AWARD.— 

13 Not later than 30 days after entering into an 

14 agreement under this paragraph, the Secretary 

15 shall publish a notice in the Federal Register 

16 that includes, with regard to the agreement, the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(i) The outcome goals of the social 

19 impact partnership project. 

20 ‘‘(ii) A description of each interven21 tion in the project. 

22 ‘‘(iii) The target population that will 

23 be served by the project. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The expected social benefits to 

2 participants who receive the intervention 

3 and others who may be impacted. 

4 ‘‘(v) The detailed roles, responsibil5 ities, and purposes of each Federal, State, 

6 or local government entity, intermediary, 

7 service provider, independent evaluator, in8 vestor, or other stakeholder. 

9 ‘‘(vi) The payment terms, the method10 ology used to calculate outcome payments, 

11 the payment schedule, and performance 

12 thresholds. 

13 ‘‘(vii) The project budget. 

14 ‘‘(viii) The project timeline. 

15 ‘‘(ix) The project eligibility criteria. 

16 ‘‘(x) The evaluation design. 

17 ‘‘(xi) The metrics that will be used in 

18 the evaluation to determine whether the 

19 outcomes have been achieved as a result of 

20 each intervention and how these metrics 

21 will be measured. 

22 ‘‘(xii) The estimate of the savings to 

23 the Federal, State, and local government, 

24 on a program-by-program basis and in the 

25 aggregate, if the agreement is entered into 


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1 and implemented and the outcomes are 

2 achieved as a result of each intervention. 

3 ‘‘(E) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER ADMINIS4 TRATION OF AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may 

5 transfer to the head of another Federal agency 

6 the authority to administer (including making 

7 payments under) an agreement entered into 

8 under subparagraph (C), and any funds nec9 essary to do so. 

10 ‘‘(F) REQUIREMENT ON FUNDING USED TO

11 BENEFIT CHILDREN.—Not less than 50 percent 

12 of all Federal payments made to carry out 

13 agreements under this paragraph shall be used 

14 for initiatives that directly benefit children. 

15 ‘‘(4) FEASIBILITY STUDY FUNDING.— 

16 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS FOR FUNDING FOR FEASI17 BILITY STUDIES.—The Secretary shall reserve a 

18 portion of the amount reserved to carry out this 

19 subsection to assist States or local governments 

20 in developing feasibility studies to apply for so21 cial impact partnership funding under para22 graph (2). To be eligible to receive funding to 

23 assist with completing a feasibility study, a 

24 State or local government shall submit an appliVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:55 Jan 27, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H576.IH H576

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1 cation for feasibility study funding addressing 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A description of the outcome 

4 goals of the social impact partnership 

5 project. 

6 ‘‘(ii) A description of the intervention, 

7 including anticipated program design, tar8 get population, an estimate regarding the 

9 number of individuals to be served, and 

10 setting for the intervention. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Evidence to support the likeli12 hood that the intervention will produce the 

13 desired outcomes. 

14 ‘‘(iv) A description of the potential 

15 metrics to be used. 

16 ‘‘(v) The expected social benefits to 

17 participants who receive the intervention 

18 and others who may be impacted. 

19 ‘‘(vi) Estimated costs to conduct the 

20 project. 

21 ‘‘(vii) Estimates of Federal, State, 

22 and local government savings and other 

23 savings if the project is implemented and 

24 the outcomes are achieved as a result of 

25 each intervention. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) An estimated timeline for im2 plementation and completion of the 

3 project, which shall not exceed 10 years. 

4 ‘‘(ix) With respect to a project for 

5 which the State or local government selects 

6 an intermediary to operate the project, any 

7 partnerships needed to successfully execute 

8 the project and the ability of the inter9 mediary to foster the partnerships. 

10 ‘‘(x) The expected resources needed to 

11 complete the feasibility study for the State 

12 or local government to apply for social im13 pact partnership funding under paragraph 

14 (2). 

15 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SELECTION OF APPLICA16 TIONS FOR FEASIBILITY STUDY.—Not later 

17 than 6 months after receiving an application for 

18 feasibility study funding under subparagraph 

19 (A), the Secretary, in consultation with the 

20 Federal Interagency Council on Social Impact 

21 Partnerships and the head of any Federal agen22 cy administering a similar intervention or serv23 ing a population similar to that served by the 

24 project, shall select State or local government 


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1 feasibility study proposals for funding based on 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) The recommendations made by 

4 the Commission on Social Impact Partner5 ships. 

6 ‘‘(ii) The likelihood that the proposal 

7 will achieve the desired outcomes. 

8 ‘‘(iii) The value of the outcomes ex9 pected to be achieved as a result of each 

10 intervention. 

11 ‘‘(iv) The potential savings to the 

12 Federal Government if the social impact 

13 partnership project is successful. 

14 ‘‘(v) The potential savings to the 

15 State and local governments if the project 

16 is successful. 

17 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Not later 

18 than 30 days after selecting a State or local 

19 government for feasibility study funding under 

20 this paragraph, the Secretary shall cause to be 

21 published on the website of the Federal Inter22 agency Council on Social Impact Partnerships 

23 information explaining why a State or local gov24 ernment was granted feasibility study funding. 

25 ‘‘(D) FUNDING RESTRICTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) FEASIBILITY STUDY RESTRIC2 TION.—The Secretary may not provide fea3 sibility study funding under this paragraph 

4 for more than 50 percent of the estimated 

5 total cost of the feasibility study reported 

6 in the State or local government applica7 tion submitted under subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(ii) AGGREGATE RESTRICTION.—Of 

9 the total amount reserved to carry out this 

10 subsection, the Secretary may not use 

11 more than $10,000,000 to provide feasi12 bility study funding to States or local gov13 ernments under this paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(iii) NO GUARANTEE OF FUNDING.— 

15 The Secretary shall have the option to 

16 award no funding under this paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(E) SUBMISSION OF FEASIBILITY STUDY

18 REQUIRED.—Not later than 9 months after the 

19 receipt of feasibility study funding under this 

20 paragraph, a State or local government receiv21 ing the funding shall complete the feasibility 

22 study and submit the study to the Federal 

23 Interagency Council on Social Impact Partner24 ships. 


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1 ‘‘(F) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 

2 Secretary may transfer to the head of another 

3 Federal agency the authorities provided in this 

4 paragraph and any funds necessary to exercise 

5 the authorities. 

6 ‘‘(5) EVALUATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREE8 MENTS.—For each State or local government 

9 awarded a social impact partnership project ap10 proved by the Secretary under this subsection, 

11 the head of the relevant agency, as rec12 ommended by the Federal Interagency Council 

13 on Social Impact Partnerships and determined 

14 by the Secretary, shall enter into an agreement 

15 with the State or local government to pay for 

16 all or part of the independent evaluation to de17 termine whether the State or local government 

18 project has achieved a specific outcome as a re19 sult of the intervention in order for the State 

20 or local government to receive outcome pay21 ments under this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(B) EVALUATOR QUALIFICATIONS.—The 

23 head of the relevant agency may not enter into 

24 an agreement with a State or local government 

25 unless the head determines that the evaluator is 


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1 independent of the other parties to the agree2 ment and has demonstrated substantial experi3 ence in conducting rigorous evaluations of pro4 gram effectiveness including, where available 

5 and appropriate, well-implemented randomized 

6 controlled trials on the intervention or similar 

7 interventions. 

8 ‘‘(C) METHODOLOGIES TO BE USED.—The 

9 evaluation used to determine whether a State or 

10 local government will receive outcome payments 

11 under this subsection shall use experimental de12 signs using random assignment or other reli13 able, evidence-based research methodologies, as 

14 certified by the Federal Interagency Council on 

15 Social Impact Partnerships, that allow for the 

16 strongest possible causal inferences when ran17 dom assignment is not feasible. 

18 ‘‘(D) PROGRESS REPORT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—The 

20 independent evaluator shall— 

21 ‘‘(I) not later than 2 years after 

22 a project has been approved by the 

23 Secretary and biannually thereafter 

24 until the project is concluded, submit 

25 to the head of the relevant agency and 


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1 the Federal Interagency Council on 

2 Social Impact Partnerships a written 

3 report summarizing the progress that 

4 has been made in achieving each out5 come specified in the agreement; and 

6 ‘‘(II) before the scheduled time of 

7 the first outcome payment and before 

8 the scheduled time of each subsequent 

9 payment, submit to the head of the 

10 relevant agency and the Federal 

11 Interagency Council on Social Impact 

12 Partnerships a written report that in13 cludes the results of the evaluation 

14 conducted to determine whether an 

15 outcome payment should be made 

16 along with information on the unique 

17 factors that contributed to achieving 

18 or failing to achieve the outcome, the 

19 challenges faced in attempting to 

20 achieve the outcome, and information 

21 on the improved future delivery of this 

22 or similar interventions. 

23 ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION TO THE SECRETARY

24 AND CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days 

25 after receipt of the written report pursuant 


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1 to clause (i)(II), the Federal Interagency 

2 Council on Social Impact Partnerships 

3 shall submit the report to the Secretary 

4 and each committee of jurisdiction in the 

5 House of Representatives and the Senate. 

6 ‘‘(E) FINAL REPORT.— 

7 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Within 

8 6 months after the social impact partner9 ship project is completed, the independent 

10 evaluator shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) evaluate the effects of the 

12 activities undertaken pursuant to the 

13 agreement with regard to each out14 come specified in the agreement; and 

15 ‘‘(II) submit to the head of the 

16 relevant agency and the Federal 

17 Interagency Council on Social Impact 

18 Partnerships a written report that in19 cludes the results of the evaluation 

20 and the conclusion of the evaluator as 

21 to whether the State or local govern22 ment has fulfilled each obligation of 

23 the agreement, along with information 

24 on the unique factors that contributed 

25 to the success or failure of the project, 


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1 the challenges faced in attempting to 

2 achieve the outcome, and information 

3 on the improved future delivery of this 

4 or similar interventions. 

5 ‘‘(ii) SUBMISSION TO THE SECRETARY

6 AND CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days 

7 after receipt of the written report pursuant 

8 to clause (i)(II), the Federal Interagency 

9 Council on Social Impact Partnerships 

10 shall submit the report to the Secretary 

11 and each committee of jurisdiction in the 

12 House of Representatives and the Senate. 

13 ‘‘(F) LIMITATION ON COST OF EVALUA14 TIONS.—Of the amount reserved under this 

15 subsection for social impact partnership 

16 projects, the Secretary may not obligate more 

17 than 15 percent to evaluate the implementation 

18 and outcomes of the projects. 

19 ‘‘(G) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 

20 Secretary may transfer to the head of another 

21 Federal agency the authorities provided in this 

22 paragraph and any funds necessary to exercise 

23 the authorities. 

24 ‘‘(6) FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COUNCIL ON SO25 CIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIPS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab2 lished the Federal Interagency Council on So3 cial Impact Partnerships (in this paragraph re4 ferred to as the ‘Council’) to— 

5 ‘‘(i) coordinate with the Secretary on 

6 the efforts of social impact partnership 

7 projects funded under this subsection; 

8 ‘‘(ii) advise and assist the Secretary in 

9 the development and implementation of the 

10 projects; 

11 ‘‘(iii) advise the Secretary on specific 

12 programmatic and policy matter related to 

13 the projects; 

14 ‘‘(iv) provide subject-matter expertise 

15 to the Secretary with regard to the 

16 projects; 

17 ‘‘(v) certify to the Secretary that each 

18 State or local government that has entered 

19 into an agreement with the Secretary for a 

20 social impact partnership project under 

21 this subsection and each evaluator selected 

22 by the head of the relevant agency under 

23 paragraph (5) has access to Federal ad24 ministrative data to assist the State or 

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1 uating the performance and outcomes of 

2 the project; 

3 ‘‘(vi) address issues that will influence 

4 the future of social impact partnership 

5 projects in the United States; 

6 ‘‘(vii) provide guidance to the execu7 tive branch on the future of social impact 

8 partnership projects in the United States; 

9 ‘‘(viii) prior to approval by the Sec10 retary, certify that each State and local 

11 government application for a social impact 

12 partnership contains rigorous, independent 

13 data and reliable, evidence-based research 

14 methodologies to support the conclusion 

15 that the project will yield savings to the 

16 State or local government or the Federal 

17 Government if the project outcomes are 

18 achieved; 

19 ‘‘(ix) certify to the Secretary, in the 

20 case of each approved social impact part21 nership that is expected to yield savings to 

22 the Federal Government, that the project 

23 will yield a projected savings to the Fed24 eral Government if the project outcomes 

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1 evant Federal agency to produce an after2 action accounting once the project is com3 plete to determine the actual Federal sav4 ings realized, and the extent to which ac5 tual savings aligned with projected savings; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(x) provide periodic reports to the 

8 Secretary and make available reports peri9 odically to Congress and the public on the 

10 implementation of this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION OF COUNCIL.—The 

12 Council shall have 11 members, as follows: 

13 ‘‘(i) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Coun14 cil shall be the Director of the Office of 

15 Management and Budget. 

16 ‘‘(ii) OTHER MEMBERS.—The head of 

17 each of the following entities shall des18 ignate one officer or employee of the entity 

19 to be a Council member: 

20 ‘‘(I) The Department of Labor. 

21 ‘‘(II) The Department of Health 

22 and Human Services. 

23 ‘‘(III) The Social Security Ad24 ministration. 


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1 ‘‘(IV) The Department of Agri2 culture. 

3 ‘‘(V) The Department of Justice. 

4 ‘‘(VI) The Department of Hous5 ing and Urban Development. 

6 ‘‘(VII) The Department of Edu7 cation. 

8 ‘‘(VIII) The Department of Vet9 erans Affairs. 

10 ‘‘(IX) The Department of the 

11 Treasury. 

12 ‘‘(X) The Corporation for Na13 tional and Community Service. 

14 ‘‘(7) COMMISSION ON SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNER15 SHIPS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is estab17 lished the Commission on Social Impact Part18 nerships (in this paragraph referred to as the 

19 ‘Commission’). 

20 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The duties of the Commis21 sion shall be to— 

22 ‘‘(i) assist the Secretary and the Fed23 eral Interagency Council on Social Impact 

24 Partnerships in reviewing applications for 

25 funding under this subsection; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) make recommendations to the 

2 Secretary and the Federal Interagency 

3 Council on Social Impact Partnerships re4 garding the funding of social impact part5 nership agreements and feasibility studies; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) provide other assistance and in8 formation as requested by the Secretary or 

9 the Federal Interagency Council on Social 

10 Impact Partnerships. 

11 ‘‘(C) COMPOSITION.—The Commission 

12 shall be composed of nine members, of whom— 

13 ‘‘(i) one shall be appointed by the 

14 President, who will serve as the Chair of 

15 the Commission; 

16 ‘‘(ii) one shall be appointed by the 

17 Majority Leader of the Senate; 

18 ‘‘(iii) one shall be appointed by the 

19 Minority Leader of the Senate; 

20 ‘‘(iv) one shall be appointed by the 

21 Speaker of the House of Representatives; 

22 ‘‘(v) one shall be appointed by the Mi23 nority Leader of the House of Representa24 tives; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) one shall be appointed by the 

2 Chairman of the Committee on Finance of 

3 the Senate; 

4 ‘‘(vii) one shall be appointed by the 

5 ranking member of the Committee on Fi6 nance of the Senate; 

7 ‘‘(viii) one member shall be appointed 

8 by the Chairman of the Committee on 

9 Ways and Means of the House of Rep10 resentatives; and 

11 ‘‘(ix) one shall be appointed by the 

12 ranking member of the Committee on 

13 Ways and Means of the House of Rep14 resentatives. 

15 ‘‘(D) QUALIFICATIONS OF COMMISSION

16 MEMBERS.—The members of the Commission 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) be experienced in finance, eco19 nomics, pay for performance, or program 

20 evaluation; 

21 ‘‘(ii) have relevant professional or per22 sonal experience in a field related to one or 

23 more of the outcomes listed in this sub24 section; or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) be qualified to review applica2 tions for social impact partnership projects 

3 to determine whether the proposed metrics 

4 and evaluation methodologies are appro5 priately rigorous and reliant upon inde6 pendent data and evidence-based research. 

7 ‘‘(E) TIMING OF APPOINTMENTS.—The ap8 pointments of the members of the Commission 

9 shall be made not later than 120 days after the 

10 date of the enactment of this subsection, or, in 

11 the event of a vacancy, not later than 90 days 

12 after the date the vacancy arises. If a member 

13 of Congress fails to appoint a member by that 

14 date, the President may select a member of the 

15 President’s choice on behalf of the member of 

16 Congress. Notwithstanding the preceding sen17 tence, if not all appointments have been made 

18 to the Commission as of that date, the Commis19 sion may operate with no fewer than five mem20 bers until all appointments have been made. 

21 ‘‘(F) TERM OF APPOINTMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The members ap23 pointed under subparagraph (C) shall serve 

24 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(I) Three members shall serve 

2 for 2 years. 

3 ‘‘(II) Three members shall serve 

4 for 3 years. 

5 ‘‘(III) Three members (one of 

6 which shall be Chair of the Commis7 sion appointed by the President) shall 

8 serve for 4 years. 

9 ‘‘(ii) ASSIGNMENT OF TERMS.—The 

10 Commission shall designate the term 

11 length that each member appointed under 

12 subparagraph (C) shall serve by unani13 mous agreement. In the event that unani14 mous agreement cannot be reached, term 

15 lengths shall be assigned to the members 

16 by a random process. 

17 ‘‘(G) VACANCIES.—Subject to subpara18 graph (E), in the event of a vacancy in the 

19 Commission, whether due to the resignation of 

20 a member, the expiration of a member’s term, 

21 or any other reason, the vacancy shall be filled 

22 in the manner in which the original appoint23 ment was made and shall not affect the powers 

24 of the Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(H) APPOINTMENT POWER.—Members of 

2 the Commission appointed under subparagraph 

3 (C) shall not be subject to confirmation by the 

4 Senate. 

5 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—Of the 

6 amounts reserved to carry out this subsection, the 

7 Secretary may not use more than $2,000,000 in any 

8 fiscal year to support the review, approval, and over9 sight of social impact partnership projects, including 

10 activities conducted by— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Federal Interagency Council on 

12 Social Impact Partnerships; and 

13 ‘‘(B) any other agency consulted by the 

14 Secretary before approving a social impact part15 nership project or a feasibility study under 

16 paragraph (4). 

17 ‘‘(9) NO FEDERAL FUNDING FOR CREDIT EN18 HANCEMENTS.—No amount reserved to carry out 

19 this subsection may be used to provide any insur20 ance, guarantee, or other credit enhancement to a 

21 State or local government under which a Federal 

22 payment would be made to a State or local govern23 ment as the result of a State or local government 

24 failing to achieve an outcome specified in a contract. 


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1 ‘‘(10) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts re2 served to carry out this subsection shall remain 

3 available until 10 years after the date of the enact4 ment of this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(11) WEBSITE.—The Federal Interagency 

6 Council on Social Impact Partnerships shall estab7 lish and maintain a public website that shall display 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) A copy of, or method of accessing, 

10 each notice published regarding a social impact 

11 partnership project pursuant to this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(B) A copy of each feasibility study fund13 ed under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(C) For each State or local government 

15 that has entered into an agreement with the 

16 Secretary for a social impact partnership 

17 project, the website shall contain the following 

18 information: 

19 ‘‘(i) The outcome goals of the project. 

20 ‘‘(ii) A description of each interven21 tion in the project. 

22 ‘‘(iii) The target population that will 

23 be served by the project. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) The expected social benefits to 

2 participants who receive the intervention 

3 and others who may be impacted. 

4 ‘‘(v) The detailed roles, responsibil5 ities, and purposes of each Federal, State, 

6 or local government entity, intermediary, 

7 service provider, independent evaluator, in8 vestor, or other stakeholder. 

9 ‘‘(vi) The payment terms, method10 ology used to calculate outcome payments, 

11 the payment schedule, and performance 

12 thresholds. 

13 ‘‘(vii) The project budget. 

14 ‘‘(viii) The project timeline. 

15 ‘‘(ix) The project eligibility criteria. 

16 ‘‘(x) The evaluation design. 

17 ‘‘(xi) The metrics used to determine 

18 whether the proposed outcomes have been 

19 achieved and how these metrics are meas20 ured. 

21 ‘‘(D) A copy of the progress reports and 

22 the final reports relating to each social impact 

23 partnership project. 

24 ‘‘(E) An estimate of the savings to the 

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1 gram-by-program basis and in the aggregate, 

2 resulting from the successful completion of the 

3 social impact partnership project. 

4 ‘‘(12) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, in con5 sultation with the Federal Interagency Council on 

6 Social Impact Partnerships, may issue regulations as 

7 necessary to carry out this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(13) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 ‘‘(A) AGENCY.—The term ‘agency’ has the 

10 meaning given that term in section 551 of title 

11 5, United States Code. 

12 ‘‘(B) INTERVENTION.—The term ‘interven13 tion’ means a specific service delivered to 

14 achieve an impact through a social impact part15 nership project. 

16 ‘‘(C) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

17 means the Secretary of the Treasury. 

18 ‘‘(D) SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP

19 PROJECT.—The term ‘social impact partnership 

20 project’ means a project that finances social 

21 services using a social impact partnership 

22 model. 

23 ‘‘(E) SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP

24 MODEL.—The term ‘social impact partnership 


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1 model’ means a method of financing social serv2 ices in which— 

3 ‘‘(i) Federal funds are awarded to a 

4 State or local government only if a State 

5 or local government achieves certain out6 comes agreed on by the State or local gov7 ernment and the Secretary; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the State or local government co9 ordinates with service providers, investors 

10 (if applicable to the project), and (if nec11 essary) an intermediary to identify— 

12 ‘‘(I) an intervention expected to 

13 produce the outcome; 

14 ‘‘(II) a service provider to deliver 

15 the intervention to the target popu16 lation; and 

17 ‘‘(III) investors to fund the deliv18 ery of the intervention. 

19 ‘‘(F) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means 

20 each State of the United States, the District of 

21 Columbia, each commonwealth, territory or pos22 session of the United States, and each federally 

23 recognized Indian tribe. 

24 ‘‘(14) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made avail25 able to carry out subsection (b) for fiscal year 2017, 


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1 the Secretary shall reserve $100,000,000 to carry 

2 out this subsection.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF TANF PROGRAM. 

4 (a) FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANTS.—Section 

5 403(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)) 

6 is amended in each of subparagraphs (A) and (C), by 

7 striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

8 (b) HEALTHY MARRIAGE PROMOTION AND RESPON9 SIBLE FATHERHOOD GRANTS.—Section 403(a)(2)(D) of 

10 such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(2)(D)) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

12 (c) TRIBAL GRANTS.—Section 412(a) of such Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 612(a)) is amended in each of paragraphs (1)(A) 

14 and (2)(A) by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

15 (d) CHILD CARE ENTITLEMENT.—Section 418(a)(3) 

16 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 618(a)(3)) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

18 (e) GRANTS TO THE TERRITORIES.—Section 

19 1108(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1308(b)(2)) is amend20 ed by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

21 (f) EXTENSION OF THE TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE

22 FOR NEEDY FAMILIES PROGRAM AND RELATED PRO23 GRAMS THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2017.—Activities au24 thorized by part A of title IV and section 1108(b) of such 

25 Act (other than under section 403(b) of such Act) shall 


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1 continue through December 31, 2017, in the manner au2 thorized for fiscal year 2017, and out of any money in 

3 the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appro4 priated, there are hereby appropriated such sums as may 

5 be necessary for such purpose. Grants and payments may 

6 be made pursuant to this authority on a quarterly basis 

7 through the first quarter of fiscal year 2018 at the level 

8 provided for such activities for the corresponding quarter 

9 of fiscal year 2017. 

10 SEC. 4. STRENGTHENING WELFARE RESEARCH AND EVAL11 UATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF A WHAT 

12 WORKS CLEARINGHOUSE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 413 of the Social Security 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 613) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 413. EVALUATION OF TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR 

16 NEEDY FAMILIES AND RELATED PROGRAMS. 

17 ‘‘(a) EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTS OF TANF.—The 

18 Secretary shall conduct research on the effect of State pro19 grams funded under this part and any other State pro20 gram funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined 

21 in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) on employment, self-suffi22 ciency, child well-being, unmarried births, marriage, pov23 erty, economic mobility, and other factors as determined 

24 by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD

2 WELL-BEING BY PROMOTING HEALTHY MARRIAGE AND

3 RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD.—The Secretary shall con4 duct research to determine the effects of the grants made 

5 under section 403(a)(2) on child well-being, marriage, 

6 family stability, economic mobility, poverty, and other fac7 tors as determined by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec9 retary shall, in consultation with States receiving funds 

10 provided under this part, develop methods of dissemi11 nating information on any research, evaluation, or study 

12 conducted under this section, including facilitating the 

13 sharing of information and best practices among States 

14 and localities. 

15 ‘‘(d) STATE-INITIATED EVALUATIONS.—A State 

16 shall be eligible to receive funding to evaluate the State 

17 program funded under this part or any other State pro18 gram funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined 

19 in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i)) if— 

20 ‘‘(1) the State submits to the Secretary a de21 scription of the proposed evaluation; 

22 ‘‘(2) the Secretary determines that the design 

23 and approach of the proposed evaluation is rigorous 

24 and is likely to yield information that is credible and 

25 will be useful to other States; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) unless waived by the Secretary, the State 

2 contributes to the cost of the evaluation, from non3 Federal sources, an amount equal to at least 25 per4 cent of the cost of the proposed evaluation. 

5 ‘‘(e) CENSUS BUREAU RESEARCH.— 

6 ‘‘(1) The Bureau of the Census shall implement 

7 or enhance household surveys of program participa8 tion, in consultation with the Secretary and the Bu9 reau of Labor Statistics and made available to inter10 ested parties, to allow for the assessment of the out11 comes of continued welfare reform on the economic 

12 and child well-being of low-income families with chil13 dren, including those who received assistance or 

14 services from a State program funded under this 

15 part or any other State program funded with quali16 fied State expenditures (as defined in section 

17 409(a)(7)(B)(i)). The content of the surveys should 

18 include such information as may be necessary to ex19 amine the issues of unmarried childbearing, mar20 riage, welfare dependency and compliance with work 

21 requirements, the beginning and ending of spells of 

22 assistance, work, earnings and employment stability, 

23 and the well-being of children. 

24 ‘‘(2) To carry out the activities specified in 

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1 retary, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall con2 sider ways to improve the surveys and data derived 

3 from the surveys to— 

4 ‘‘(A) address under reporting of the receipt 

5 of means-tested benefits and tax benefits for 

6 low-income individuals and families; 

7 ‘‘(B) increase understanding of poverty 

8 spells and long-term poverty, including by facili9 tating the matching of information to better un10 derstand intergenerational poverty; 

11 ‘‘(C) generate a better geographical under12 standing of poverty such as through State13 based estimates and measures of neighborhood 

14 poverty; 

15 ‘‘(D) increase understanding of the effects 

16 of means-tested benefits and tax benefits on the 

17 earnings and incomes of low-income families; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(E) improve how poverty and economic 

20 well-being are measured, including through the 

21 use of consumption measures, material depriva22 tion measures, social exclusion measures, and 

23 economic and social mobility measures. 

24 ‘‘(f) RESEARCH AND EVALUATION CONDUCTED

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1 ducted under this section designed to determine the effects 

2 of a program or policy (other than research conducted 

3 under subsection (e)) shall use experimental designs using 

4 random assignment or other reliable, evidence-based re5 search methodologies that allow for the strongest possible 

6 causal inferences when random assignment is not feasible. 

7 ‘‘(g) DEVELOPMENT OF WHAT WORKS CLEARING8 HOUSE OF PROVEN AND PROMISING APPROACHES TO

9 MOVE WELFARE RECIPIENTS INTO WORK.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta11 tion with the Secretary of Labor, shall develop a 

12 database (which shall be referred to as the ‘What 

13 Works Clearinghouse of Proven and Promising 

14 Projects to Move Welfare Recipients into Work’) of 

15 the projects that used a proven approach or a prom16 ising approach in moving welfare recipients into 

17 work, based on independent, rigorous evaluations of 

18 the projects. The database shall include a separate 

19 listing of projects that used a developmental ap20 proach in delivering services and a further separate 

21 listing of the projects with no or negative effects. 

22 The Secretary shall add to the What Works Clear23 inghouse of Proven and Promising Projects to Move 

24 Welfare Recipients into Work data about the 

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1 ducted experimental evaluation of a program or 

2 project, using random assignment or other research 

3 methodologies that allow for the strongest possible 

4 causal inferences, have shown they are proven, 

5 promising, developmental, or ineffective approaches. 

6 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA FOR EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVE7 NESS OF APPROACH.—The Secretary, in consultation 

8 with the Secretary of Labor and organizations with 

9 experience in evaluating research on the effective10 ness of various approaches in delivering services to 

11 move welfare recipients into work, shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) establish criteria for evidence of effec13 tiveness; and 

14 ‘‘(B) ensure that the process for estab15 lishing the criteria— 

16 ‘‘(i) is transparent; 

17 ‘‘(ii) is consistent across agencies; 

18 ‘‘(iii) provides opportunity for public 

19 comment; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) takes into account efforts of 

21 Federal agencies to identify and publicize 

22 effective interventions, including efforts at 

23 the Department of Health and Human 

24 Services, the Department of Education, 

25 and the Department of Justice. 


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1 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

2 ‘‘(A) APPROACH.—The term ‘approach’ 

3 means a process, product, strategy, or practice 

4 that is— 

5 ‘‘(i) research-based, based on the re6 sults of one or more empirical studies, and 

7 linked to program-determined outcomes; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) evaluated using rigorous research 

10 designs. 

11 ‘‘(B) PROVEN APPROACH.—The term 

12 ‘proven approach’ means an approach that— 

13 ‘‘(i) meets the requirements of a 

14 promising approach; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) has demonstrated significant and 

16 substantively important positive outcomes 

17 at more than one site in terms of increas18 ing work and earnings of participants, re19 ducing poverty and dependence, improving 

20 child well-being, or strengthening families. 

21 ‘‘(C) PROMISING APPROACH.—The term 

22 ‘promising approach’ means an approach— 

23 ‘‘(i) that meets the requirements of 

24 subparagraph (D)(i); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) that has been evaluated using 

2 well-designed and rigorous randomized 

3 controlled trials (or, if not available, rig4 orous quasi-experimental research designs); 

5 ‘‘(iii) that has demonstrated signifi6 cant and substantively important positive 

7 outcomes at one site in terms of increasing 

8 work and earnings of participants, reduc9 ing poverty and dependence, improving 

10 child well-being, or strengthening families; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(iv) under which the benefits of the 

13 positive outcomes have exceeded the costs 

14 of achieving the outcomes. 

15 ‘‘(D) DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH.—The 

16 term ‘developmental approach’ means an ap17 proach that— 

18 ‘‘(i) is research-based, grounded in 

19 relevant empirically based knowledge, and 

20 linked to program-determined outcomes; 

21 ‘‘(ii) is evaluated using rigorous re22 search designs; and 

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1 ing work and earnings of participants in a 

2 cost-effective way. 

3 ‘‘(h) APPROPRIATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount appro5 priated by section 403(a)(1) for each fiscal year, 

6 0.33 percent shall be available for research, technical 

7 assistance, and evaluation under this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amount made avail9 able under paragraph (1) for each fiscal year, the 

10 Secretary shall make available $10,000,000 plus 

11 such additional amount as the Secretary deems nec12 essary and appropriate, to carry out subsection 

13 (e).’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

15 403(a)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(1)(B)) is 

16 amended by inserting ‘‘, reduced by the percentage speci17 fied in section 413(h) with respect to the fiscal year,’’ be18 fore ‘‘as the amount’’. 

19 SEC. 5. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO DATA EXCHANGE 

20 STANDARDS TO IMPROVE PROGRAM COORDI21 NATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 411(d) of the Social Secu23 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 611(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(d) DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDS FOR IMPROVED

25 INTEROPERABILITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall, in 

2 consultation with an interagency work group estab3 lished by the Office of Management and Budget and 

4 considering State government perspectives, by rule, 

5 designate data exchange standards to govern, under 

6 this part— 

7 ‘‘(A) necessary categories of information 

8 that State agencies operating programs under 

9 State plans approved under this part are re10 quired under applicable Federal law to elec11 tronically exchange with another State agency; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) Federal reporting and data exchange 

14 required under applicable Federal law. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The data exchange 

16 standards required by paragraph (1) shall, to the ex17 tent practicable— 

18 ‘‘(A) incorporate a widely accepted, non19 proprietary, searchable, computer-readable for20 mat, such as the eXtensible Markup Language; 

21 ‘‘(B) contain interoperable standards devel22 oped and maintained by intergovernmental 

23 partnerships, such as the National Information 

24 Exchange Model; 


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•HR 576 IH

1 ‘‘(C) incorporate interoperable standards 

2 developed and maintained by Federal entities 

3 with authority over contracting and financial 

4 assistance; 

5 ‘‘(D) be consistent with and implement ap6 plicable accounting principles; 

7 ‘‘(E) be implemented in a manner that is 

8 cost-effective and improves program efficiency 

9 and effectiveness; and 

10 ‘‘(F) be capable of being continually up11 graded as necessary. 

12 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

13 this subsection shall be construed to require a 

14 change to existing data exchange standards found to 

15 be effective and efficient.’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Not later than the date that 

17 is 24 months after the date of the enactment of this sec18 tion, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 

19 issue a proposed rule that— 

20 (1) identifies federally required data exchanges, 

21 include specification and timing of exchanges to be 

22 standardized, and address the factors used in deter23 mining whether and when to standardize data ex24 changes; and 


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•HR 576 IH

1 (2) specifies State implementation options and 

2 describes future milestones. 

Æ 


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