New Castle County committee hears plan for Pay‑for‑Success pilot to help families exit homelessness

New Castle County’s Community Services Committee on Sept. 23 heard a presentation on Resolution 25177, which would authorize the county executive to execute a partnership agreement with Delaware Family Hope LLC for a Pay‑for‑Success project aimed at ending family homelessness.

The project, led by county staff in partnership with Social Finance and the Hope Center, uses an outcomes‑based federal award under a CPRA program administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Mike Bowser, Greens Director, said the county was one of seven agencies nationally in this funding wave and that the award could total up to $9,600,000 if outcome payments are earned. "CPRA is a federal program it's through the, the US department of treasury," Bowser said during his presentation.

The pilot would enroll 120 families in two cohorts of 60. Participating families would be offered up to a 90‑day stay at the Hope Center, intensive case management and financial counseling, and then 24 months of direct monthly cash assistance to the head of household. Bowser described the rental subsidy as "90% a fair market value rent based on family size" for the two years of payments. The program design ties federal outcome payments to permanent housing retention and avoidance of shelter stays, as measured by an independent evaluator.

Why it matters: the structure shifts…