New Castle County staff brief council on $9.6 million Treasury pay‑for‑success Family Hope Project; timeline, fundraising and evaluation still unresolved

New Castle County officials heard an update on the Family Hope Project on Jan. 25, describing a $9,600,000 U.S. Treasury pay‑for‑success award intended to reduce family homelessness and a financing model that relies on private and philanthropic up‑front funding reimbursed by the Treasury if outcome targets are met. County staff said they expect to begin intake for a first cohort "later in the summer."

The Family Hope Project is a multi‑year initiative administered by the New Castle County Department of Community Services and built around services at the county's Hope Center. Mike Bowser, grants director for Community Services, told the Community Services Committee the project uses a pay‑for‑success model in which private or philanthropic investors provide initial funds, an independent evaluator measures outcomes and the U.S. Treasury reimburses the county when performance goals are met. "We're going to receive this federal funding for this project," Bowser said during the presentation.

County staff said the Treasury award totals $9,600,000 and that the Treasury will also fund the independent evaluator. Bowser and Carrie Casey, general manager in the Department of Community Services, told the committee the evaluator agreement with Tech Impact is expected to total $1,400,000 and is funded through the Treasury award; together those amounts bring the maximum potential value of the federal award to about…