Achieving Measurable Results Across 27 Departments to Improve Community Wellbeing

Summary of Client Results:

• TCNY now has a system to visualize and communicate its efforts and results to partners and the community.
• TCNY improved collaboration to achieve strategies and create measurable changes in the community and program performance.
• TCNY can see what they will lose if they stop delivering programs benefiting the community.
• TCNY has the data they need to justify difficult budgetary decisions.

Sample Measurable Results:

• Reduced % of tentative assessments grieved by 2.1% over six years, remaining far below their target high of 20%.
• Reduced their average daily county jail census by 29% over six years.
• Successfully improved over the baseline, several indicators related to probation.

Note: This case study was developed using content from the webinar, The Very Best Results-Based Accountability Implementation Examples, hosted by Clear Impact in partnership with clients. You can watch a recording of this webinar, as well as access helpful materials here.

Tompkins County is located in northern New York, with Ithaca as its county seat. The prestigious Cornell University and Ithaca College reside nearby. The county is also home to many beautiful natural wonders. This beauty extends to the spirit shared among the roughly 102,000 people that call Ithaca home. The residents who live and work there are interested in making a difference in their community and achieving results. Results-Based Accountability (RBA) and Clear Impact Scorecard help turn this passion into measurable results, especially in criminal justice and youth development.

Tompkins County started its Results-Based Accountability journey in 2014 when it wanted to achieve more impact for youth. County staff met with youth, families, communities, and nonprofit organizations to develop desired results and indicators of child and family well-being, talk about contributing factors, and recommend strategies to become part of a countywide plan. This engagement was so successful that in 2017 they determined that they wanted to use RBA performance measures for all county departments and start looking at how those departments contribute to community well-being.

They phased this process in over three to four years to reach all county departments, and they started with the volunteer departments, referred to as “the coalition of the willing.” They want to let readers know that it is “important to start with departments and agencies and people that are excited about doing RBA and using performance measures because the excitement spreads, and, as people see success, more people want to get involved.” So, the county used a process where subsets of the departments followed the steps of RBA. All department staff trained in RBA. Dave Sanders, Tompkins County’s performance implementer and criminal justice coordinator, worked with Clear Impact’s Karen Finn and county department directors to complete most of the initial work. They collaboratively developed performance measures by brainstorming what they thought would be useful, and then Finn helped them prioritize the fewest number of most powerful performance measures.

Clear Impact Scorecard serves as the platform to manage these performance measures in an easy-to-use dashboard. For the past few years, the county has worked on using that data to turn the curve on the selected measures that needed improvement. They also work to maintain the high performance of programs that are doing well, continuously improve, and make data-driven decisions.

When asked about the benefits of Scorecard, they shared that:

• The Scorecard is “like a billboard to showcase all the hard work that we have done.”
• This process — RBA and the Clear Impact Scorecard — has given them the ability to plan collaboratively and achieve strategies and real, measurable changes in both the community and programs.
• The tools are helpful because the county can see what they will lose if the useful programs cease to exist, and they can see the tangible benefits programs bring to the community.
• The tools help the county make difficult budgetary decisions, think about how they can get through difficult times, make better funding decisions, and continuously improve.

Below, we will share a few sample scorecards that demonstrate the county’s hard work and how they’re using RBA and the Scorecard to create a measurable impact on community priorities.

The Department of Social Services was one of the first volunteer organizations to engage in the RBA process and utilize Scorecard. Department staff have expressed delight at the ability to look at effective performance measures and see at a glance how they’re doing against the baselines — not only what their current trends are, but what differences they are making over an extended period.

The Social Services Assessment Scorecard showcases one example of a tangible, measurable result of their work. They set a high-end target of 20% for the percentage of tentative assessments grieved. As you can see in the figure below, they’re not even close to 20%. They’ve turned the curve on the measure (moved the data in the right direction). Since the inception of their RBA journey, they’ve seen a steady decline in grievances and project a continued decrease.

Tompkins County has also improved indicators of criminal justice using Clear Impact Scorecard. Criminal justice coordination is a countywide effort, with many partners looking at the whole criminal justice system and the community’s safety. This effort includes measures of community safety and reducing recidivism. One focus is the average daily census for Tompkins County Jail. In the figure below, you can see a steady decline in the census since 2014. They initially projected a plateau in the data around 65 or 70 by 2018, but they are still seeing a steady decline resulting from effective strategies. These strategies included many community partners across the legal system. Partners are working together to analyze the data’s contributing factors, root causes, and the forces at work around arrest and incarceration.

Through the RBA and Scorecard data development process, the county was also able to uncover that substance abuse often plays a significant role in incarceration. This process provided the impetus to bring substance abuse treatment partners into the conversation, further contributing to their strategies’ effectiveness and leading to the development of alternative substance abuse treatments. Scorecard has allowed the county to develop and put into action individual implementation steps, track what is in process, and record accomplishments. They now meet regularly to review those strategies, see how they’re doing, and plan for the future.

Lastly, the Probation Department started managing data in Scorecard for adults (see Fig.3 below). This has led to significant improvements, notably in recidivism and discharges. There is still a long way to go, but they were so happy with the initial process that they’re now moving to utilize it with their juvenile services population.

Tompkins County is working hard to instill pride and hope in residents. Through their work and partnerships, they’re progressing towards a compassionate, resilient, and innovative community where people from all backgrounds are invited and welcomed. RBA and Clear Impact Scorecard allow hundreds of dedicated employees across 27 departments to more easily meet the needs of their community and provide relevant resources and inclusive services.

This case study was developed using content from the webinar, The Very Best Results-Based Accountability Implementation Examples, hosted by Clear Impact in partnership with clients. You can watch a recording of this webinar, as well as access helpful materials here.

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