A recent article in The Social Impact Architects had some eye opening data about the failure of an attempt in New York to reduce recidivism in incarcerated youth in Rikers' Island, New York. It was a Pay For Success program that promised changes for payment. Here is some of the report.
Scaling can fail, even in the best circumstances
The PFS project at Rikers Island entailed scaling cognitive behavioral therapy to youth detained at the facility. The team at Rikers Island was set up for scaling success:
- Cognitive behavior therapy is an evidence-based intervention that has been successful in reducing youth recidivism nationally.http://socialimpactarchitects.com/wp/3-things-to-know-before-getting-on-the-pay-for-success-bandwagon/
- The service providers, Friends of the Island Academy and Osbourne Association, have 110+ years of combined experience working with this population.
- The providers were experienced in administering this form of therapy.
- The project was fully funded at $7.2 million.
On paper, the providers were supposed to succeed in reducing recidivism by 10 percent over a three-year period, but they didn’t. This underscores the complexity and unpredictability of social interventions and just how tough scaling can be.
We have been doing research and development of tools and processes for six years to discover what will actually work in the lives of persons stuck in a difficult life situation. The things they did in this attempt, although commendable, failed to do what is essential to foster positive changes.
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