1. I. Commencing January 1, 2020 and annually thereafter, the commission shall issue a report reflecting currently funded programs and including findings relative to the cost-effectiveness, outcomes, and evidence of effectiveness of programs funded in whole or in part by the commission. Programs selected for inclusion shall be chosen by majority vote of the commission, provided that the following criteria are met:

   1. (a) Each report shall contain an evaluation of 4 programs selected from one of the following categories; provided that in year one all 4 categories shall be from treatment programs, and in year 2 all 4 categories shall be from prevention programs and this procedure shall continue thereafter on such a rotating basis:

      1. (1) Treatment programs.
      2. (2) Prevention programs, including reduction of societal and individual harm.
   2. (b) The programs selected shall be chosen from among the 10 highest dollar value programs in that category.
   3. (c) No law enforcement programs shall be selected.

2. II. The report required under paragraph I shall utilize a cost-effectiveness analysis in such a format to permit comparisons between the selected programs within a given category. The report shall be submitted to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the members of the house and senate committee having jurisdiction over health and human services issues, the members of the house and senate finance committees, and the fiscal committee of the general court. For the purposes of this paragraph:

   1. (a) "Program" means a set of systematic activities that engage participants in order to achieve desired outcomes.
   2. (b) "Outcome" means the program effects in the participant population and shall exclude outputs.
   3. (c) "Evidence of effectiveness" means documented results of evaluation assessing the effect of the program on the intended outcome for program participants, or program beneficiaries in the case of prevention programs. This may include results of program evaluation conducted in the jurisdiction or an evidence rating developed by matching the program to available research using a nationally recognized clearinghouse of program evaluations, such as those included in the Pew-MacArthur Results First Clearinghouse Database.
   4. (d) "Cost-effectiveness analysis" means an economic evaluation in which the costs and consequences of alternative interventions are expressed as cost per unit of outcome.

Source. 2018, 302:2, eff. June 25, 2018. 2025, 41:2, eff. June 28, 2025.