When States Invest in What Works, People Feel the Difference
Results for America’s Vice President and State Practice Lead, Patrick Carter, shows how results-driven spending in Colorado, Tennessee & Minnesota is improving lives.
The last time Congress passed a full budget on time was 1997. I was entering fourth grade. Now my own kids are in school and will soon be learning about how government is supposed to work. The budget process is meant to be hard – it’s how we, as a nation, make choices and set priorities. But the gridlock in Washington, D.C., right now feels less like deliberation and more like government not working.
What’s striking is how different things look at the state level. In my work with state governments, I see numerous leaders – spanning the political spectrum – who are focused on results and getting things done for the people in their states. They are showing that government can work and, importantly, how to get there.
Fourteen states stand out for consistently using data and evidence in spending decisions. This approach is helping them maximize the impact of taxpayer dollars and make measurable progress on key challenges, from expanding early learning opportunities to providing genuine second chances to offenders.
Today, I’ll spotlight three of those states: Colorado, Tennessee and Minnesota, my home state. Since 2022, they’ve collectively directed more than $10 billion towards proven solutions. Their efforts started with technical reforms, like how governors and legislators collaborate on budgets, how agencies publish data or how grants are written. But, the impact is being felt where it matters most – in people’s lives.
Colorado: Universal Preschool for Every Four-Year-Old
Like families nationwide, too many in Colorado struggled to find and afford preschool. That’s why the state has invested $650 million since 2022 to launch a universal preschool program. Access to preschool can improve a family’s economic trajectory, allowing parents to work more and helping prepare children for school.
Colorado’s investment built on a smaller state program, expanding it to be universal for all four-year-olds. Now, 70% of four-year-olds are enrolled in state-supported preschool, up from just 25% two years ago – catapulting the state from 27th to third in the nation for preschool access.
Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood is continually improving the program, both through a formal evaluation process and through tweaks such as refining an online enrollment tool based on feedback from families and preschool providers. That willingness to learn and get better is paying off in big and small ways. For example, 90% of users of the online enrollment tool report satisfaction with the process.
For a smile and a real life example of the impact of Colorado’s investment, read this story in Chalkbeat Colorado about a brave little boy and a few silly friends on their first day of preschool.
Tennessee: Reducing Recidivism with Evidence-Based Programs
Tennessee is investing in what works to reduce recidivism and make its communities safer. With over 26,000 people in local prisons, the state has invested $10 million in grants for evidence-based programs that support successful reentry, including vocational training, educational opportunities, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. It also invested $50 million in evidence-based programs for targeted violent crime intervention in the 10 zip codes in the state with the highest number of homicides.
For reentry funding, grantees must use programs rated “highest” or “second-highest” in the Results First Clearinghouse. Combined with other efforts, these investments are helping more people break the cycle of crime and reincarceration – Tennessee’s statewide recidivism rate fell from 46% in 2020 to 42% in 2024 – making more communities safer and reducing costs for taxpayers.
As Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction Frank Strada put it:
“The data is proof that what we are doing in Tennessee is working. We are seeing the results of the action taken by Governor Bill Lee, the General Assembly, and [Tennessee Department of Correction] employees who work to prepare offenders for success on the day they enter our custody.”
For violent crime intervention funding, not only are funded programs and services required to build on what’s worked before, but grantees must also commit to monitoring programs to make sure they are implemented in ways that align with the evidence. This last point is important because it directs grantees’ focus to actually delivering results.
Minnesota: Free School Meals for Every Student
In Minnesota, one in four households with children faces food insecurity. To confront this, the state has invested $559 million since 2022 to provide free breakfast and lunch to all school children in the state, ensuring no child must try to learn while hungry or be treated differently than peers in the lunch line. Universal free school meals increase children’s meal participation, and can also help decrease obesity and reduce suspension rates.
Since 2023, Minnesota’s free school meals program has served over 302 million meals, saving families an average of $1,000 per student per year. Participation in school meals has surged: 40% more students are eating breakfast and 15% more are eating lunch. And in an unexpected benefit, less time spent on eligibility paperwork and tracking meal debt, has allowed schools to invest more time in sourcing local, nutritious food.
Stacey Koppen, Director of Nutrition Services at St. Paul Public Schools, recently told lawmakers that the program had been a game changer:
“I have witnessed firsthand a number of families who found themselves just a few dollars over the income guidelines that we had previously used to qualify students for free or reduced-price meals. Really and truly that is something that will never escape me is the desperation that I witnessed from parents that were struggling with making a decision to balance their child’s nutritional needs during the day against some really complicated financial struggles at home. … The Minnesota Free School Meals for Kids was an absolutely necessary and transformative step in moving Minnesota forward.”
My kids, who attend public school in Minnesota, came home recently with a story about a classmate who earned a round of applause at lunch for suggesting that everyone dip their grilled cheese into the tomato soup. They’re too young to care about data or policy impact; they just know that sharing a meal of common food with friends is one of the best parts of the day.
A Growing Movement
Across the country, states are showing how government can work better and what’s possible when it does. These stories from Colorado, Tennessee and Minnesota are just three examples from a growing movement to use data and evidence to make smarter spending decisions and deliver better results.
Dig into the details of what leading states are doing in Results for America’s 2025 Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence.
And stay tuned on The Department of What Works for more stories of state governments improving lives.