7. Investing in What Works through Direct Services

7.1: The state directly administers evidence-based interventions using state dollars, formula funds, or federal dollars (that don’t already require evidence) Greater of: A) 1 point for every $200 million spent through direct interventions that define and prioritize evidence or B) 1 point for every 5 direct intervention programs that define and prioritize evidence. The calculation period runs from January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2025.

7.2: The state has a policy (law, administrative rule or guidance, executive order, etc) that requires all economic mobility agencies to, wherever practicable, deliver programs in a way that addresses the needs of communities most in need.

Colorado

Leading Example

From the Colorado Reading to Ensure Academic Development Act, prioritizing early literacy proficiency, to the Nurse-Family Partnership providing vital support for first-time parents, Colorado has invested $3B since January 2022 across 20 evidence-based direct services that address specific community needs with targeted interventions. Bolstered by legislative mandates and evidence-based approaches, such as the Colorado Works Subsidized Training and Employment Program, designed to empower TANF recipients, these programs collectively reflect Colorado’s commitment to evidence-based interventions.

Promising Examples

Connecticut

The Connecticut Two-Generational Interagency Plan is a coordinated, cross-agency strategy designed to disrupt intergenerational poverty by aligning services and policies that support both children and adults in a family. Through collaborative efforts among state agencies—including the Office of Early Childhood, Department of Labor, Department of Social Services, and others—the plan promotes data sharing, leverages existing resources, and sets shared goals to advance family economic self-sufficiency and racial and socioeconomic equity

The Connecticut Office of Early Childhood partnered with the Connecticut Department of Housing on a pilot program that provides housing vouchers to Head Start families as a step towards ending homelessness and supporting family success.

Maryland

Maryland is making sustained, large-scale investments in evidence-based direct services across housing, health, youth justice, and workforce. The Department of Housing and Community Development funds Rental Housing Works, UPLIFT, and Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative (BVRI) to produce income-restricted homes, reduce vacancy, and deliver EmPOWER energy-efficiency upgrades for low-income households. The Department of Health invests in programs such as Housing First, Permanent Supportive Housing, Healthy Homes for Healthy Kids, and and Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV), all with strong or promising evidence for improving health outcomes for individuals across the lifespan and community stability. The Department of Juvenile Services deploys proven interventions such as Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Functional Family Therapy (FFT), and credible messenger programs to reduce recidivism and support youth and families. The Department of Labor invests in WIOA services, registered apprenticeships, and targeted initiatives in direct care, offshore wind, and cyber to connect residents to in-demand jobs. The State Department of Education’s Child Care Scholarship expands access to quality early learning. Together, these programs fund what works.

Minnesota

In FY 24-25 Minnesota invested $2.68 billion in new evidence-based programs and policies focused on children and families, early education, K-12 education, health, and human services. Minnesota considers evidence-based programs to be activities that have been found to produce favorable outcomes by at least one impact evaluation that uses experimental or quasi-experimental design so that any impact found can be attributed to the studied activity.

The largest investment, over $893 million, was in a new child tax credit. Beginning with 2023 taxes, individuals may qualify for a Child Tax Credit of $1,750 per qualifying child, with no limit on the number of children claimed. The credit gradually phases out if your income is over $29,500 ($35,000 for Married Filing Jointly). Many of the new investments were for education, including over $252 million in Early Learning Scholarships and over $387 million for Universal School Meals.

New Jersey

New Jersey implements several evidence-based direct services across different state agencies:

Child Protection and Permanency (Department of Children and Families) uses Solution Based Casework, an evidence-based model, to improve child welfare through enhanced engagement and assessment techniques, training about 5,000 staff. The program has received $313.5 million in funding.
Preschool Education Aid (Department of Education) offers high-quality, evidence-based pre-K programs to enhance Kindergarten readiness and long-term academic achievement. These programs must meet state learning standards. The State budget allocates over $1.2 billion annually for the program.
ARRIVE Together (Department of Law and Public Safety) pairs law enforcement officers with mental health screeners to respond to mental and behavioral health crises. The program is funded with approximately $20 million annually.

These programs are grounded in research and best practices to deliver impactful services.

New Mexico

New Mexico delivers several evidence-based services to improve family and youth outcomes:

Residential Drug Abuse Treatment (Corrections Department) offers nonpunitive rehabilitation for youth, providing behavioral health services near families. The program has served over 6,000 families, with 4,200 receiving evidence-based care, funded at $20.2 million.
Missouri Model (Children, Youth, and Families Department) rehabilitates youth by focusing on family proximity and behavioral health services, funded at $298 million.
Home Visiting Programs (Early Childhood Education and Care Department): These include:
- Nurse Family Partnership for low-income families, funded at $11.2 million.
- Parents as Teachers, peer home visits for children up to age 5, funded at $45 million.
- Family Connects, universal nurse home visits after childbirth, funded at an estimated $2.9 million.
- First Born, support for first-time parents from prenatal to age 3, funded at an estimated $18.6 million.
PreKindergarten, an extra year of learning before Kindergarten, funded at an estimated $645.7 million.

Beginning in FY25, the state funds three-year pilot funding for direct services of some evidence- and research-based programming including Differential Response, Screening, brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), Safe Care home visiting, and salary differentials for teachers in hard to fill positions. For FY25, the funding for these programs totalled $14.4 million, with similar funding for FY26 and FY27.

NM is also funding behavioral health services, including Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), both in community settings and at correctional facilities, totaling approximately $6.8 million in FY25.

New York

Beginning in 2013, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services developed a cost-benefit analysis, based on an initial technical report, to outline the impact, costs, and benefits of specific criminal justice interventions. As a result of these efforts, New York has continued to operate Alternatives to Incarceration and Re-entry programs, a $43 million initiative in 2023-2024, to support evidence-based interventions.

Governor Kathy Hochul allocated $75 million to the State University of New York (SUNY) Transformation Fund in the FY 2024 budget. With this investment, 25 SUNY campuses will replicate the City University of New York (CUNY) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), which dramatically increases associate degree completion, and Accelerate, Complete, and Engage (ACE), which is the baccalaureate version of ASAP.

North Carolina

North Carolina state agencies aim to deliver better outcomes for residents by providing direct services in addition to supporting local partners, providers, and grantees. While NC does not have a comprehensive inventory of evidence-based interventions directly administered by the state, seven programs featured here – over $100M in investments annually – are proven effective or promising based on rigorous research evidence. Programmatic focus areas span workforce and economic development, mental and behavioral health, criminal justice and recidivism reduction, early education and child welfare.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce is mandated by law to rank the state’s 100 counties based on economic well-being and assign each a Tier designation. This County Tier rankings system is incorporated into various state programs (including discretionary grant programs and the Job Development Investment Grant program) to encourage economic activity and channel resources where they can have the greatest impact.

Ohio

Ohio prioritized reducing infant mortality rates using the InnovateOhio Platform (IOP) to enhance predictive profiling models. Over 30 datasets were securely linked to identify at-risk individuals and design targeted interventions. In 2023, $300,000 was invested in data-informed models. In 2024, Ohio allocated funds to evidence-based programs like Healthy Beginnings at Home ($3,000,000) and Infant Vitality ($15,361,000).

Ohio partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, investing $16 million annually from 2022 to 2025, promoting literacy by providing monthly books to children under five. Local studies highlight positive impacts, including improved Kindergarten Readiness Assessments.

Oregon

A 2003 Oregon law defines evidence-based program as a program that “incorporates significant and relevant practices based on scientifically based research; and is cost effective” and states that the Oregon Department of Corrections, Oregon Youth Authority, Oregon Youth Development Division, and “the part of the Oregon Health Authority that deals with mental health and addiction issues” shall (1) spend at least 75% of state moneys that the agency receives for programs on evidence-based programs; (2) perform cost-benefit analyses; and (3) compile a biennial program inventory with results from funded programs. As of 2022, the Oregon Youth Authority spent 88% of General Funds ($59.6 million) and 91% of total funds ($88.5 million) subject to Oregon’s Senate Bill 267 (SB267) on evidence-based programming. In a 2022 report to the legislature, the Oregon Department of Education Youth Development Division indicated 94% ($2,420,087) of reported expenditures support local programs that meet evidence-based practice criteria.

Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections administers the evidence-based State Drug Treatment Program. For over 10 years, the Department of Corrections (DOC) has published a biannual State Intermediate Punishment (SIP) performance report that shows significantly lower recidivism rates for the program participants of SIP back to 2005. To increase participation in these effective programs, Act 115/Justice Reinvestment was passed in 2019. DOC expanded the SIP program (now called State Drug Treatment Program) into more institutions, and the savings generated from the inmates going through the program (as a result of their reduced stay in prison and not receiving parole supervision) will be reinvested into county probation programs, sentencing, and victim services

Rhode Island

Rhode Island directly administers and delivers a broad portfolio of evidence-based services using state, formula, and eligible federal dollars. From 2022–2025, agencies operated dozens of programs that define and prioritize evidence, centered in health and extending to public safety, transportation, corrections, and the courts.

Beyond health, evidence-based strategies guide impaired-driving enforcement and media campaigns, problem-solving courts (family, diversion, veterans), reentry supports, and naloxone training and distribution through the University of Rhode Island.

Programs draw on evidence provided by rigorous sources such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services research (NIH, CDC, etc.) and appear in recognized evidence clearinghouses like CrimeSolutions and Results First. These programs are delivered by state agencies, putting proven strategies to work for Rhode Islanders.

Tennessee

Tennessee’s Office of Evidence and Impact (OEI) defined five evidence steps. The Office also completed inventories of state- and federally-funded program areas including corrections, mental health, substance abuse services, early literacy, labor and workforce, economic development, and higher education as a part of the state’s evidence-based budgeting initiative. Several evidence-based programs are directly administered by state staff and agencies submit updated program outcome data to OEI annually. Currently, 40 of these programs are evidence-based and over $2.3 billion state and federal are invested annually.

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