New Office Created to Help New York’s Poor

Officials in New York announced this week plans to spend an extra $150-million a year in government and private money on fighting poverty, reports The New York Times.

The program, called the Center for Economic Opportunity, involves the creation of a new city office that would operate like a cross between a philanthropic foundation and a venture capital company, the newspaper said.

The program would administer a $100-million fund to support experimental programs, like giving cash rewards to encourage poor people to stay in school or receive preventive medical care, or matching their monthly bank deposits to encourage greater savings.

The office would also oversee a program giving tax credits to poor families to offset child-care costs. Officials plan to spend $42-million annually on the tax credit, $25-million to reward actions like attending school or prenatal education classes, and $11-million to help poor adults save money and learn sound financial practices.

The program calls for the office to spend $5-million a year on measuring progress, and $71-million on about 30 programs that administration officials say they are developing but declined to announce.

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