Together, We Did: Our Farewell to the Patrick Administration
Eight years ago, Governor Deval Patrick ran and won election on the promise of “Together we can.” The Governor has been a collaborative leader who took a rational, rather than emotional, path to agreement on complex issues. Today, as we say farewell to Governor Patrick and his administration, we are proud to look at some of the partnerships and results we have achieved together to improve the lives of children and families in Massachusetts. Here are a few of our favorite partnerships:
“Pay for Success” Social Impact Bonds
Last month, Governor Patrick joined United Way, the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance and the Corporation for Supportive Housing to launch the first-in-the-nation “Pay for Success” contract to reduce chronic individual homelessness. The initiative, also called Social Impact Bonds, will provide 500 units of stable supportive housing for up to 800 chronically homeless individuals over 6 years, improving the well-being of individuals while saving taxpayer dollars by reducing the utilization of costly emergency resources like shelter and Medicaid payments.
#IamaBrainBuilder
In 2011, we partnered with the Department of Early Education and Care to create “Brain Building in Progress,” a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of early education to our future economic prosperity and to provide resources to parents and caregivers to support the early childhood development of young children. Together, we have created 11,000 toolkits for families, produced 7 parent tip sheets in 11 different languages, identified 276 Brain Building Zones, and held 3,563 community events with children museums, libraries and community-based organizations across the state. Most recently this campaign has turned up in some of the state’s most unlikely spaces – the MBTA and Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV)! Also, in 2013, Governor Patrick signed legislation to authorize investments to support facilities improvement to early education programs and improvements that provide higher quality environments and settings for young children. The first awards were announced this week.
Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC): A “win-win-win”
In 2013, Governor Patrick signed legislation establishing the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC), a new program designed to help improve the quality of life and economic opportunity for families and neighborhoods across the Commonwealth. Governor Patrick hailed the tax credit as a demonstration of the “real strength in partnerships.” The CITC offers individuals, corporations and nonprofit institutions the opportunity to obtain a 50% Massachusetts state tax credit and up to a 35% standard federal tax deduction (depending on tax bracket) while investing in the economic development of the communities that need help most by donating to community development corporations. At the end of the 2014 tax year, this credit was poised to provide over $2 million in revenue to support these efforts in local communities.
We are honored to have worked with Governor Patrick and applaud his eye for innovation and his commitment to funding strategies that not only get results, but that change lives and strengthen communities. Together, we did!
Governor Patrick’s administration will end just before noon on Thursday, January 8. We enthusiastically welcome Governor-Elect Charles Baker as he starts a new chapter for the Commonwealth. What are your hopes for Governor Baker and his administration? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!