Results First in Mississippi

In December 2012, Mississippi partnered with the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative to support the state’s broader goal of revitalizing its performance-based budgeting system. In July 2014, the Mississippi Results First team completed their analysis of the state’s adult criminal justice programs and released a detailed report that included a full inventory of programs operated by the Department of Corrections. The report provided a cost-benefit analysis of those programs from the inventory that were identified as evidence-based. In consultation with leadership from the Department of Corrections, the technical team and key legislative leaders are reviewing the Results First Clearinghouse Database to identify options for updating or replacing programs that lack evidence of effectiveness.

In this testimonial video, Representative Toby Barker and Max Arinder, director of the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, or PEER, highlight the state’s progress in implementing the Results First cost-benefit model and the positive impact the effort has had on improving data-driven decision-making.