Governor Quinn Pioneers Innovative Approach to Fund New Opportunities for At-Risk Youth
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Governor Pat Quinn today announced the next step in developing a cutting-edge partnership between Illinois, community organizations and private investors to provide better opportunities for at-risk youth. Illinois is the third state in the nation to move forward with Social Impact Bonds – a performance-driven approach to funding programs that solve pressing community challenges by investing in prevention. The initiative is part of Governor Quinn’s agenda to foster innovation across Illinois, expand career pathways for youth and make government smarter.
“Illinois’ first Social Impact Bonds project will offer a critical hand of support to our state’s youth who need the most help,” Governor Quinn said. “This will allow us to address community needs that we otherwise might not have been able to do. This new initiative has already attracted strong interest from investors and community organizations.”
Just last week, the Governor’s Office issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) from organizations seeking to partner with the state on Social Impact Bonds contracts. The state is seeking to partner on projects across two issue areas:
- Increasing placement stability while reducing re-arrests for youth in Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services with histories of justice-involvement.
- Improving educational achievement and living-wage employment opportunities for justice-involved youth at highest risk of reoffending upon returning to their communities.