NJJN Tip Sheet

If you are looking for information about Social Impact Bonds (SIBs), then this is the perfect publication for you. "The goal of a Social Impact Bond (SIB) is to improve social outcomes while effectively allocating scarce public-sector resources. SIBs are a public-private partnership in which private investors adopt the risk that a social program may not produce its desired outcomes" (p. 1). Topics covered include: what a SIB is; the difference between a Social Impact Bond and Pay for Success (PFS); history of SIBs; who the key players are-government agency, investor, intermediary, service provider, and independent evaluator; how SIB is constructed; the potential benefits; the potential pitfalls; and three examples of current Social Impact Bond initiatives. Since SIBs are a relatively new development in financing social programs, "[i]n the juvenile justice context, social impact bonds can offer an innovative way for government to shift resources from costly facilities to more effective community-based programs. All investments come with risks; one of the benefits of social impact bonds to government is that there is a degree of risk transference-if the program does not perform, the government is not on the hook financially" (p. 5).

"A longstanding and growing body of research shows that pre-trial detention and post-adjudication incarceration for youth can have extremely negative ramifications for the youth’s ability to get back on the right track. Youth prisons and detention facilities have been shown to be dangerous, ineffective, and unnecessary. Community-based supervision programs for youth both cost less than confinement and provide increased rehabilitative benefits for youth. This brief tip sheet will describe a few fundamental characteristics of community-based supervision programs and will summarize their average costs" (p. 1). Sections of this publication include: introduction to community-based supervision programs for youth; benefits of these programs; selected key components for youth supervised programs; six program examples; cost of youth incarceration; cost of community-based supervision programs-if only 50% of the juveniles detained during 2011 in the U.S. were supervised in the community for nine months, almost 50% of costs (or $333,000) would have been saved; and conclusion.